


Harry Potter and the Dragon's Nest

by Lauren (notalwaysweak)



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-09-28
Updated: 2003-09-27
Packaged: 2017-10-05 20:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notalwaysweak/pseuds/Lauren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fifth book AU, in the absence of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, this story sees a new student from Norway arrive at Hogwarts. But Kelsey Florence has an old enemy, and she's being stalked... In order to help her out, Harry and the usual suspects must eventually travel to Norway and meet Kelsey's dragons.</p><p>My deepest thanks to Elanor Gamgee of the Sugar Quill for her diligent betaing of this fic.</p><p>Dedicated to Elanor, Zsenya, Julie, Landry Anne, METMA Mandy, and all the wonderful people out there in HP fandom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dudley's Drums

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter characters, places and concepts do not belong to me, they belong to J.K. Rowling. I am just borrowing and will put them back neatly where I found them between books four and five.

The blinds were closed over the windows of number four, Privet Drive. A strange thudding noise came from one of the upper rooms, a noise that had long since set all the dogs along the street howling. Occasionally the thudding would stop, only to start monotonously up again, usually to the accompaniment of a voice raised in a scolding yell.

Dudley Dursley was practising his drums.

Harry Potter, hunched in his bedroom immediately next door, clutched his quill tighter while attempting to cover both ears with his free hand. A large splatter of ink dripped spitefully onto the parchment and, swallowing a groan -- which would surely bring Aunt Petunia down on his head if it were heard -- Harry tried to blot the ink away. Naturally, the blotting paper refused to work. Harry sighed. If only he were allowed to use magic outside of school...

A soft hooting at the window provided a welcome distraction from the boring History of Magic essay, and Harry hurried to open the window for Hedwig. The snowy owl swooped in, did a couple of graceful laps around the room, then came to rest on her perch. Harry reached eagerly to untie the letter from her leg and unrolled it.

'_Dear Harry,_

_I hope you're coping with the Dursleys -- hopefully it won't be too long before you can come and live with me instead! I'm just writing to say happy fifteenth birthday and I hope to see you sometime when you return to Hogwarts._'

It was signed '_Snuffles_'.

Harry grinned, then laughed. This earned him a thump on the wall from Aunt Petunia next door, but he didn't care. At least Sirius Black, his godfather, had remembered his birthday. It was just a pity the wizard himself hadn't been able to visit Harry for his birthday -- but as he had escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison, two years ago, public appearances were understandably impossible. Besides, the Dursleys probably wouldn't like an escaped convict turning up on their doorstep.

Naturally the Dursleys themselves had forgotten his birthday. Or, which was more probable, had remembered it and simply not bought him anything. The sudden purchase of the drums for Dudley, which had only happened today, was probably not a coincidence.

Harry scratched the top of Hedwig's head, then gave her a few Owl Treats. She nibbled the end of his finger affectionately before settling down to her reward. Harry went back to his desk feeling happy for once, especially when a loud crash and Aunt Petunia's loud, hectoring shriek announced the demise of the drums.

* * *

The next three weeks passed in standard Dursley fashion -- in a word, horrible. Dudley taunted Harry over his lack of birthday celebration when he, Dudley, had been given the drums and then had them replaced with a violin when he had poked a hole in the drum skin with the drumstick. The violin sounded like a cat being slowly tortured, and Harry was glad when Dudley found that boring as well and threw it out of the window.

Uncle Vernon had given himself a raise. Being the director of the drill firm Grunnings he couldn't be promoted, but he could certainly increase his salary at the expense of his workers. The money mostly went towards more toys for Dudley, as usual. Harry certainly didn't see any of it.

He was grateful when the day finally came that he could go up to London and Diagon Alley to shop for his school supplies. Uncle Vernon reluctantly gave him the money for a train ticket there. His Hogwarts ticket -- for the train which left from platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station -- had been delivered by owl two nights ago, the owl waking up the entire household. Harry had been existing on bread and cheese since, and was glad to be going somewhere where he'd be able to get a decent meal.

Waving at Tom, the bartender in the Leaky Cauldron, Harry went through the back door and found the right brick in the wall, tapping it three times with his wand. The archway opened, and he found himself facing Diagon Alley.

The bustling road was filled with people. Witches and wizards of all shape, size and description bustled about, many of them people Harry knew, other students like himself buying school supplies. He would have to go to the wizard bank Gringotts first to get the money he needed. As he walked up the steps he saw Hermione Granger waving at him from just within the foyer.

'Harry! Did you get my owl?'

Harry had. A large tawny owl had delivered Hermione's present three weeks earlier, along with the letter announcing that this was the day she would be in London. The gift had been, naturally, a book -- _The History of Quidditch in England_. Harry was surprised that it hadn't been a schoolbook, but chose not to say anything apart from 'Yes, thanks.'

'Ron says he'll see us on the train. He wasn't coming here this year -- his Mum's going to do all the shopping herself. She says it's finally become too much for her, trying to make the twins behave and keep an eye on Ginny and Ron and not lose anyone,' Hermione said.

'Oh, right,' said Harry. 'We'd better get started, the Dursleys'll love it if I'm late home, they can lock me out.' He touched his pocket to make sure his wand was safe, then he and Hermione headed for one of the goblins at the counter. This routine was becoming almost normal to Harry, but the ride down to his vault was still a stomach-twisting, dizzying blur for the duration of which his and Hermione's main objective was to hang on as tightly to the sides of the cart as possible.

After loading up his bag with gold Galleons, silver Sickles and bronze Knuts, they continued to Hermione's smaller vault, where she had a small amount of wizarding money safely stored. To their shock, when the vault door was unlocked, a small pixie flew out, gibbering angrily at Griphook, the goblin steering their cart. Calmly, the goblin reached up and plucked it from the air, holding it firmly as Hermione collected this year's money.

'Pesky little thieves... _Corpus Gelare_!' Griphook added, tapping the pixie on the head with his wand. The pixie stopped struggling and seemed to freeze in the goblin's hand. Griphook put it neatly down on the floor of the cart.

'_Try_ not to step on him, if you can possibly help it,' he said with a grin. 'Let's go then?' he added, seeing Hermione had her money.

'Who's the pixie?' Harry shouted over the roar as the cart made its speedy way back out of the bowels of the bank.

'Brybek,' Griphook replied. 'We catch him about once a month, getting into people's vaults. He doesn't really steal anything,' the goblin added, seeing the outraged look on Hermione's face. 'Just seems to get some kind of thrill from it... here we are.' He helped the shaken pair out of the cart, scooped up the frozen pixie, and strode towards the door back into the bank. Despite being a full two heads shorter than Harry, the goblin's presence was still commanding.

Harry and Hermione said goodbye to Griphook at the door back into the bank, then made their way through the queues and back into the fresh air of Diagon Alley. Somewhere further along the cobblestoned street they heard the rattle-bang as someone let off a string of Filibuster Fireworks, and green sparks shot out of a nearby shop doorway to the accompaniment of a loud yelp of pain. They both laughed, then wandered down the street towards Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore.

'What can I help you with?' asked one of the shop assistants, a thin young man with a pinched face, looking rather harassed. Evidently they were not the only ones shopping today.

'Er -- we both need_ The Standard Books of Spells, Grade Five_... _Magical Theory II_... and _The Dark Arts: Your Safety Guide_, by Olivia N. Shadow,' Harry said.

'And I need...' Hermione checked her list, '..._Twenty Simple Arithmancy Formulae_, by Matthew Matica.'

The assistant darted around, finding the books and stacking them high in the pair's arms. Soon they had all they needed and could pay and leave, staggering a little under the weight -- Harry had remembered he needed a new book for Divination, but not what it was called, and Hermione had snorted quite rudely when he mentioned it. She disliked Divination, enough to have walked out of it and not returned when Professor Trelawney finally made one too many disparaging remarks.

'How about an ice-cream?' Harry suggested, so they had mint-choc-chip and banana ice-creams, the odd combination of green and yellow trickling down the sides of the crispy cones. Hermione licked her fingers, then stopped.

'Oh, it's four o'clock already!' she said. 'I've got to go and meet my parents, they can't get in here of course, not without me anyway. I'm surprised we didn't see Hagrid here,' she added. Rubeus Hagrid was the massive groundkeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and was often to be seen in Diagon Alley hunting for something obscure -- usually an animal. Norbert the dragon and Buckbeak the Hippogriff numbered among Hagrid's favourite 'pets', and the animals he classified as 'cute' were generally what anyone else would call 'terrifying'.

'And I'd better be getting back to the Dursleys',' Harry said glumly, the pleasure in the day beginning to seep away as he contemplated the prospect of the remainder of his time with the horrible family.

'Why don't you go and stay with Ron until school starts again?' said Hermione as they bid farewell to Diagon Alley and walked back through the back door of the Leaky Cauldron.

'He hasn't invited me. I got his birthday present -- another Chudley Cannons book and a talisman sort of thing to tie onto my broom for good luck. He hasn't made any more 'fellytone' calls,' Harry added with a grin, and both of them felt a pang of regret that Ron couldn't be here with them today.

'Oh well, we'll see him on the train,' said Hermione briskly as they exited the Leaky Cauldron and she waved to her parents. 'And I'll see you there then,' she added, giving Harry an awkward one-armed hug, her other arm being loaded down with books. She dashed off, Harry watching her go, her bushy brown hair flying behind her.

* * *

The remaining time until he had to catch the train to Hogwarts passed painfully slowly. Dudley seemed intent on playing -- or failing to play -- every known instrument he could persuade his doting parents to buy for him. He went through, besides the drums and violin, at least four other instruments in the time Harry spent there, including a trombone which made a rather spectacular exit through Dudley's window and into the greenhouse. Had Harry done the same, he would've been forced to pay for the damage and locked in his room for the rest of the time until he left for Hogwarts -- Dudley was simply fussed over, Aunt Petunia anxiously inspecting his hands for glass cuts and Uncle Vernon trying to blame it all on Harry.

But finally the time came. Harry was driven to King's Cross Station by Uncle Vernon, who barely saw him out of the car before he slammed the door and took off in a squeal of tyres. Harry wasn't worried -- he was as glad to be rid of Uncle Vernon as Uncle Vernon was to be rid of him.

The Weasleys were on platform nine, Mrs Weasley already sending Fred and George through the barrier to platform nine and three-quarters. Ginny was wrestling with a cage almost as large as herself which contained an owl Harry hadn't seen before, a tawny bird which was clearly not impressed to be awake and surrounded by so many people; it kept hooting loudly and earned Ginny many odd looks from the Muggle passengers on the platform.

Ron was standing to one side with Hermione, Hermione's parents nowhere in sight. Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl, was in _his_ (considerably smaller) cage, while the cage which presumable held Hermione's cat Crookshanks was at her feet. Ron spotted Harry first and waved, and Harry ran over, lumping his trunk along. The three friends shared a 'welcome back' hug, then stood grinning at each other until Mrs Weasley bustled over and began sorting them through the barrier.

* * *

Once on the train, rocketing along towards Hogwarts, the trio settled back into their old routines of talking over one another and laughing at new jokes. Ginny kept very quiet in her corner of the compartment and watched Harry most of the way.

Hermione kept yawning, and after the fifth or so view of her recently mended teeth, Ron asked her if she was tired.

'No,' said Hermione, 'I've been sleeping quite well. I just seem to have less energy lately.'

'Probably all the homework you were doing on the holidays,' said Ron with a snicker.

Seeing the look on Hermione's face, Harry hastily interrupted with, 'Ron, why wouldn't your mother let you come to Diagon Alley this year?'

Ron sighed. 'It's Fred and George, of course, they keep inventing new practical jokes and tricks. Mum didn't want them there because they've been trying all summer to find a place that'll sell their stuff.'

'Won't they just go into Hogsmeade and try at Zonko's?' asked Hermione.

'Oh, I suppose they might, but I rather think Mum's got that sorted out,' Ron said. 'I think she sent an owl there to warn them about the twins, so that's probably not going to work either.'

There was a rattle in the corridor outside, and then a knock at the door -- the witch pushing the tea trolley was there.

'Anything off the trolley, dears?' she smiled.

'Oh, definitely!' said Harry, making a dive for first his money and then the trolley -- the Dursleys had kept him more or less on his bread-and-cheese diet even after he'd returned from Diagon Alley, and he intended to stuff himself with Cauldron Cakes, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and whatever else he could think of. He bought food for the others too (though he refused to buy a Cockroach Cluster for Ron to give to Ginny), and soon they were all happily eating.

'Yuck -- paper-flavoured.'

'Ooh, look, I got Abigail Williams, she was a big part of the Salem Witch Trials!'

'She wasn't a witch, was she?'

'Nah, she was a witch-finder, it says. She's a bit young, isn't she?'

Hermione spat out her next flavoured jellybean. 'Yuck -- Lima beans,' she said.

'You're out of luck today, aren't you?' said Harry. 'Here, have a Chocolate Frog.' He handed her one and she opened it.

'Ooh, Ron, you wanted Ptolemy, didn't you?'

'You got Ptolemy?' Ron asked. 'I've been after him for years...'

'Here,' said Hermione instantly, handing the card over. 'I don't need it, I'm not collecting them.'

Ron watched the card for a few minutes as the Greek astronomer brandished a telescope furiously, then tucked it away in his pocket. 'Thanks, Hermione, I owe you one,' he said awkwardly.

Hermione snorted. 'Don't worry, Ron, it was just a bit of luck. I'll bet you start finding him all over the place now,' she said.

Harry opened another Chocolate Frog only to find that the card inside was blank. He stared at it, turning it over and over, even holding it up to the light, but there was nothing on it.

'Here, look at this, there's no picture on it,' he said.

Hermione squinted at the card, then pulled out her wand and tapped it. '_Aparecium_!' she said, but there was no result. She tried rubbing it with her Revealer, but that didn't work either. Finally they gave up and Harry put the card away in his pocket just as the train came to a halt. Then they had to stuff their sweets into their pockets and get off the train.

'Firs' years! Firs' years over here!' boomed a loud voice. Hagrid waved to them over the heads of the milling crowd and they waved back, then the first years began to move off in a nervous clump and they were left to board the horseless coaches which would take them to the school. Ginny, half-asleep, almost fell asleep again on the way to the school, and Hermione started yawning again. Harry and Ron talked excitedly about this new year.

'Fifth year... d'you think it'll be as exciting as last year... or the year before.. or...' Ron's voice trailed off when Harry started laughing.

'Hopefully not,' yawned Hermione. 'I could do with a nice, relaxing year -- but we've got to start working really hard this year to prepare for our OWLs, you know.'

'Oh, Hermione, go back to sleep,' said Ron.

* * *

'Hermione? Hermione! Pay attention, they're bringing the first years in!'

Hermione yawned, pushing a strand of brown hair out of her eyes and lifting her head from the table. She yawned again and covered her mouth with her hand guiltily -- she was still feeling sluggish, almost unable to move.

'Honestly, Hermione, anyone would think you hadn't slept for a week.' Harry gave his friend an exasperated look and nodded towards the front of the hall where Hagrid was leading the small group of nervous-looking first-years in. Hagrid's eyes searched the tables until he spotted them, and waved. Harry waved back. So did Ron, who was sitting on Hermione's other side. Hermione barely had the strength to lift her hand.

The tattered Sorting Hat was brought out and placed on a stool by the diminutive Professor Flitwick. The rip at its brim opened wide like a mouth and it began to sing:

__

'Some might say that I'm old hat  
But I'm no crying shame  
For those who I Sort into their place  
May find fortune and fame.

The knowledge was put into me  
To help you find your future  
Though I may look shabby  
As a guide you'll find none better.

I know where to look inside your mind  
To find the place you will belong  
And I know how to Sort your abilities  
To make your powers strong.

Hufflepuff's children are kind  
Ready to help their friends  
And if ever something might go wrong  
They're quick to make amends.

Ravenclaw's people are wise  
Intelligence here is the key  
Their wit and wisdom makes them strong  
Theirs is a learning place to be.

Slytherin's sort are a tricky kind  
Their powers those of cunning  
Rest assured, if you cross this type  
They will soon send you running.

Gryffindor's type are mostly brave  
Courage and soul are just their style  
In Gryffindor you might just fit  
And thus go that extra mile.

The Hogwarts' Houses each are fine  
And each have their own talents  
Each bring glory, pride and hope  
To each of their inhabitants.

So when you put me on I'll tell you true  
Just where you ought to be  
And you will find that I'm always right  
Just try me out and see!'

A round of applause echoed around the Hall as the hat 'bowed' to each table, then settled back, waiting for the first of the new students to come and try it on. Professor McGonagall had moved forward to call out the names of the new students.

'Atkins, Emma!'

An arrogant-looking girl swaggered out of line, black hair swaying, and slipped the hat on.

'SLYTHERIN!'

Emma raced for the Slytherin table, taking her place next to Millicent Bulstrode, who gave her a hug and grinned nastily across at the Gryffindors. The familial resemblance was evident, despite the difference in surname: Harry guessed (correctly, as it happened) that Emma was Millicent's cousin.

'Caskill, Fiona!'

'RAVENCLAW!'

'DeAngelis, Danielle!'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

The Sorting went on in this way until the last student ('Singer, Casey!') had been Sorted into Hufflepuff. There were six new Gryffindor students, who huddled at the end of the table. Hermione opened her mouth, about to make some comment about how it had been for them five years ago, when Ron looked puzzled.

'Who's that?'

Another student, looking no older than the rest of the first years, was standing next to Professor McGonagall, who was waiting impatiently for everyone's attention. She had fine light blonde hair, blue eyes which were flickering interestedly over everyone in the Great Hall, and was blushing brightly as everyone's eyes fastened on her. She seemed to shrug the blush off, though, and stood with her back straight and her eyes facing front as Professor McGonagall introduced her.

'This is Kelsey Florence, who is from the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Sadly, Kelsey is mute, but nonetheless has joined us here at Hogwarts, at the request of her parents. She will be working with the other first-years, and is capable of doing anything they can. I ask you all to be considerate of Kelsey, and for those of you who know sign language, this will be most helpful in understanding her.' She nodded Kelsey forward to the Sorting Hat.

'RAVENCLAW!'

The Ravenclaw table burst into loud applause; Harry saw Cho Chang standing up to wave Kelsey over and went nearly as red as Kelsey had gone when she spotted him and added an extra wave to him. He hastily turned back to his plate, rather wishing he could disappear into it.

'She's pretty, that girl,' commented Hermione. 'And to come to a magic school mute, Dumbledore must have a lot of faith in her abilities.'

'How on Earth are you supposed to do spells if you're mute? And why hasn't anyone found a way to make her talk?' asked Ron, who was looking up at Dumbledore. The Headmaster was making his usual opening speech to the school, which generally consisted of a 'Hello and welcome to Hogwarts' before encouraging them all to tuck in. Massive arrays of food appeared on the serving platters, along with large pitchers of iced pumpkin juice and various other drinks. The Hall filled with the sound of many voices as everyone began to chatter, discussing holidays and the coming school year.

'She's not mute from any normal cause,' said Neville Longbottom from across the table. 'She got cursed when she was younger and they haven't found any way to lift it yet.'

'How do you know that?' asked Ron, getting stuck into his black pudding.

'It was in the _Daily Prophet_, when they found out she was coming here. The 'Local News' section, written by the new reporter they got in to replace Rita Skeeter, wherever she went,' said Neville.

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged grins -- they knew full well where the obnoxious reporter was. An Animagus, capable of turning into a beetle, Rita had been captured by Hermione near the end of the previous year. Hermione had released her, but the objectionable woman had not yet returned to her job.

'She'll turn up,' said Hermione. 'Bad pennies always do.'

* * *

After dinner they headed for the Gryffindor Tower, pausing for a quick chat with the Fat Lady portrait before giving the new password ('willow wand') and going inside to sit around the fire. Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas gathered at the fire to talk over their holidays, but Hermione excused herself and went up to bed, yawning all the way.

'I wonder what's wrong with her?' said Ron.

'Why, has she been like that all day?' asked Seamus.

'Yeah. She was nearly asleep on the train and at dinner. Hope she's not sick, it's not like her,' said Ron.

'Yeah. You ready for Quidditch practice? Katie said she's going to get everyone together tomorrow morning,' Dean said. Dean didn't participate in the Quidditch matches, but was always well up on what was going on. Katie Bell was the new Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, since Oliver Wood had left, and was a Chaser on the team, along with Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. Fred and George Weasley were the Beaters, Harry was the Seeker, and nobody knew who this year's Keeper was going to be.

Harry groaned. 'Oh, of course. Seems determined to be as tough as Wood, doesn't she?' he asked. 'Never mind, the practice is important. We're going to win again this year!'

'I bet you do,' said Seamus. 'We've got the best team after all, not to mention the faster Seeker.'

Harry went red. 'Seamus...'

Seamus just grinned, refusing to say any more on the subject. The talk turned back to what people had been doing over their holidays, not that Harry had much to say on that subject of course, and one by one the boys excused themselves and headed up to bed.

Harry was left alone, staring into the fire and thinking about Cho Chang. This line of thought brought him round to that new girl... Kelsey Florence. She'd seemed so young, although she had to be eleven like the other first-years, and being mute must've made life even harder for her. He felt a wave of admiration go through him that this girl had nonetheless worked at her magic and become as good as she had.

Kelsey was a mystery. If she wasn't able to talk, then how was she able to do spells? Nearly everything he could think of involved some words or a chant. Maybe she was able to sign to her wand, but would that work? Harry left his place at the fire and went slowly up the stairs to bed, still thinking about the elusive Kelsey as he got into his pyjamas and snuggled down into his four-poster bed. Soon he was asleep, the sounds and sights of the day running through his head in a confusing but pleasant dream.


	2. Mute Magic

The first class of the year for the fifth-year Gryffindors was double Potions with the Slytherins and horrible Professor Snape. With his hooked nose, greasy black hair and nasty smile, Snape was easy to dislike. This was made even easier by the fact that he favoured the Slytherins -- his own House -- over the Gryffindors and was constantly trying to make Harry look bad. Harry was just pleased he'd had the weekend to get used to being back at Hogwarts before he had to face Snape.

A half hour into the lesson, as Snape was hovering over Harry's shoulder while he boiled his badger bile for an Invisibility Potion, there was a knock at the dungeon door. Draco Malfoy, Harry's nemesis (one of them, anyway), jumped to open it and stood aside to let Kelsey Florence into the room.

'Ah, Miss Florence,' said Snape in an oily voice. 'I have been looking forward to meeting you.' He moved forward and shook her hand. Kelsey let him, smiling gently, then made some kind of flickering motion with her fingers which set Hermione giggling.

'What?' muttered Ron.

'Hope Snape doesn't know sign language. She just called him...' Whatever Kelsey had just called Snape was lost in further giggles. Ron looked over at Harry and rolled his eyes. Harry nodded, then turned back to the front. Kelsey had her wand out and made a strange guttural sound in the back of her throat. Harry was struck by a funny feeling that he'd heard it before, but then Kelsey started using the wand and his attention was caught by that. Words were appearing, almost at the speed of normal speech, written in blue lines in midair.

_Hello, Professor Snape. Professor Sprout sent me, she wants to know if you have any potion ingredients which need renewing from her greenhouses?_

'Yes, Miss Florence... if you don't mind waiting a moment, I think I've left the list in the storeroom...' Snape turned to the class and barked, 'Continue your work, and I don't want any funny business.' He then turned and crossed the dungeon to the storeroom.

As soon as he was gone, Malfoy began pretending he was mute, opening and closing his mouth. He stroked his wand, mouthing words, then tried to make the same guttural noise Kelsey had made. His performance being watched so intently by the laughing Slytherins, none of them noticed Kelsey playing with her own wand again.

'Malfoy, you're horrible,' said Hermione heatedly, brandishing her wand furiously. 'You wouldn't treat her like this if she was one of you... not that she'd want to be, stupid Slytherins.' This was clearly a stupid thing to say when surrounded by Slytherins, but apparently Hermione didn't care. She caught Kelsey's eye and signed something to her across the room. Kelsey shook her head firmly and signed back, a devilish grin appearing on her pretty face.

'What _are_ you doing, Granger?' Pansy Parkinson inquired. 'Telling her how to be a complete swot, like you?' The Slytherins all laughed. Hermione went crimson and suddenly shouted 'NOW!' at the top of her lungs.

And suddenly the Slytherins all went silent. Then their hands flew to their faces, their arms, their legs, and they all started scratching madly, leaping to their feet

'Ow!' Pansy yelled.

'I _itch_!' said Crabbe, tearing at his cheeks with his fingernails.

'My arms!' Malfoy said, scratching at them with his wand. It spat green sparks and he hastily dropped it and just used his hand.

Hermione and Kelsey stood, facing each other across the classroom, identical grins on their faces as they watched the squirming Slytherins. The Gryffindors were hooting and howling at their classmates' plight, when --

'_What_ is going on here?'

Snape had returned.

Hermione nodded hastily to Kelsey, and Kelsey raised her wand behind her back, letting out another guttural sound. Suddenly all the Slytherins stopped scratching, looked sheepish, and sat back down. Hermione exchanged a last signed word with Kelsey, something which made the Scandinavian laugh soundlessly, then sat back down.

'Miss Granger.'

Hermione looked up just as Snape thumped a thin hand down onto her desk. 'I can only assume you had something to do with this,' he said softly. 'Since you have your wand in your hand, of course. What was it? A hex? A curse?'

Kelsey started tapping her wand on Snape's desk, frantically trying to get his attention, but Hermione nodded. 'Yes, Professor Snape,' she said almost inaudibly.

'Yes what?'

Hermione paused before answering. 'A hex,' she said finally. Harry caught the motion of Kelsey's hands and guessed she had given Hermione the answer.

Snape practically purred with satisfaction. 'Fifteen points from Gryffindor,' he said. 'And, Miss Granger, you will remain behind after class for a detention.' Hermione flushed red, but said nothing, watching Snape hand over the supplies list to Kelsey. As Kelsey left the room she signed one last thing to Hermione and Hermione nodded.

'What just happened?' Harry asked as soon as the class had been relatively returned to normal and Snape was over the other side of the room criticising Neville.

Hermione took a long time in answering. 'It was me,' she said eventually. 'I did it.'

'You never, it was Kelsey,' said Ron. 'We saw her.'

Hermione nodded. 'But,' she said, 'it was me. I asked her to do it, and she did it. It was only right that I take the blame.'

'You lost us fifteen points,' said Harry, not that it mattered much to him. 'And you got a detention!'

Hermione shrugged. 'What does it matter?' she asked. 'If he'd realised it was her, she'd be back home before you could say bat, and you _know_ he'd never listen to us if we tried to tell him what Malfoy was up to.'

'Dumbledore would,' said Harry.

'He might, yes, but you know Snape'd make life hell for poor Kelsey, not that she hasn't got it bad enough already,' said Hermione. She grinned cheekily all of a sudden. 'He already makes my life hell, so I haven't got anything to worry about!'

* * *

Hermione had her detention during break, and then Harry and Ron had Divination, so they didn't see her to find out how it went. At lunchtime, however, she was seething, and seemed quite ready to explode.

'Bat droppings,' she said before they could ask anything as they sat down at the lunch table.

'Pardon?' asked Harry.

'Bat droppings. He made me catalogue bat droppings for half an hour. Sorting them by size. If I ever had to drink a potion with bat droppings in it, I'd be sick. _And_ I was late for my Arithmancy class, Professor Vector was _quite_ vexed.'

There was a tap on Hermione's shoulder and she turned around. Kelsey was standing there, Cho Chang just behind her. Hermione smiled and Kelsey grinned, and the two started into a flurry of signing back and forth. Hermione apparently didn't want to say what she had to say out loud, although Kelsey was perfectly capable of hearing her.

'Hi, Ron. Hi, Harry,' Cho Chang said.

'G'day, Cho,' said Ron offhandedly.

'Er... hi,' said Harry, feeling his face flush red. Cho smiled at him, which only, of course, made it worse.

'Have you had Quidditch practice yet?' she asked.

'Um, yes, first thing every morning,' Harry said. 'You?'

'We've booked the pitch for this afternoon,' Cho said. 'We would've booked it this morning, but Katie had already put your team down. She's a good Chaser.'

'So are you -- a good Seeker, a good player, I mean,' Harry stammered.

Cho smiled again, then touched Kelsey's arm. 'Ready to go?' she asked her.

Kelsey used her wand. _Nearly. Just want to tell Hermione goodbye_. She did so, fingers flying, then leaned down and hugged the older girl. Hermione hugged her back, then waved goodbye as Cho led Kelsey back to the Ravenclaw table.

'What were you talking about?' Ron asked.

'She was just thanking me for this morning,' Hermione said. 'She said she owes me a favour now, but I told her not to worry. Then she was telling me a little bit about herself. She likes talking in sign rather than spells because it's easier for her, but not very many people know sign.'

'You do,' said Harry.

'Yes, I learned it when I was younger, at Muggle school. One of the boys in the class was deaf-mute, and besides, I liked knowing a secret language,' Hermione explained.

'Oh, right. How _does_ she do her spells?' Ron asked.

'She said she can't tell me. She said Dumbledore advised her against telling anyone. If I didn't know she was only eleven, I'd think she was just small for her age, she's so smatr sometimes,' Hermione said. 'Of course, she does look a _little_ older,' she added.

'Why is it?' asked Harry.

'Look at her ears,' Hermione said cryptically.

Harry and Ron looked. As Kelsey ate her lunch with one hand, using her wand to 'talk' with the other, her hair swayed over her ears. Finally she tossed her head, and they could see what Hermione said. Under the blonde hair, Kelsey's ears were slightly pointed -- not a lot, but enough to be noticeable if you had it pointed out to you.

'They're pointed,' said Harry slowly. 'Is she part elf?'

'She's a half-elf,' said Hermione proudly. 'Her father is a powerful Norse wizard and her mother is an elf, and she gets extra height from her.'

'I thought elves were little, like Dobby and Winky,' Ron said. Dobby and Winky were two of the house-elves who served Hogwarts, keeping the place clean, making the food, and doing countless other jobs around the place. Hermione's lips tightened at the mention of them -- she just couldn't understand how these elves, house-elves to be exact, could possibly want to work without being paid.

'They're _house_-elves, Ron,' she said impatiently. '_Real_ elves are tall. Taller than us. And they have pointed ears like Kelsey. Besides, she told me.' She shook her head, then started eating her sandwich ravenously, though Harry heard her mumble 'Bat droppings!' more than once over the rest of the lunch break.

* * *

The last lesson of the day was Transfiguration with their Head of House, Professor McGonagall. For once she wasn't chivvying them into turning a hedgehog into a pincushion, or a teapot into a tortoise, but instead set them to reading a new chapter in their Transfiguration books and copying some notes down from the blackboard. It was comparably easy work, and even Neville had finished when the lesson ended.

'What's all this about?' Harry asked as they left the room, books tucked under their arms. He'd barely understood a word of what he'd been writing.

Hermione looked excited. 'The chapter after this is about human Transfiguration,' she said. 'I think Professor McGonagall might be starting us early on it!'

'We don't do that till sixth year,' said Ron dismissively.

'Oh Ron, that's why I said 'early'. Wouldn't it be exciting to be able to transform into things? You might even be able to become an Animagus!' Hermione grinned.

'That would be pretty good,' agreed Ron.

'But what would you want to turn into?' said Harry. 'I'd want to turn into something big, like a tiger. Imagine Malfoy's face!'

Hermione giggled. 'I'd rather not,' she said, 'but I know what you mean. I think I'd turn into something like a fly. They can go anywhere and not be suspected.'

'You'd get swatted,' said Ron. 'I'd be an owl, they go everywhere in here anyway, and you're not likely to have someone flatten you.'

'Pity someone hasn't flattened you already, Weasley,' broke in Malfoy's voice from behind them. 'Make it easier on your parents... one less mouth to feed.'

'Bet it's hard on _your_ parents,' said Harry, 'with your _big_ mouth to feed.'

'You think you're smart, don't you, Potter? Surprised your Mudblood's not fighting for you, though... she did enough during Potions...' Malfoy smirked nastily.

'You leave Hermione alone!' Ron yelled.

Malfoy snickered and raised his wand. Harry grabbed at his own wand, but all Malfoy did was spit red sparks at them, which singed Harry's hands. Hermione hissed, so they'd hit her too. Crabbe and Goyle, flanking Malfoy, raised their wands and grinned unpleasantly.

'What's going on here?'

Professor McGonagall's voice was welcome. The Slytherins slunk off, hiding their wands rapidly, as the Professor looked keenly at them.

'Did they do anything?' she asked Harry. For answer, Harry raised his hands, where a few small blisters were beginning to show. Professor McGonagall tsk'ed, then smiled.

'You should go to Madam Pomfrey,' she said. 'You too, Miss Granger,' she added as Hermione held up her own hands. 'Did they get you, Mr Weasley?'

'No, Professor,' said Ron.

'Good. So you didn't retaliate at all?' she suddenly shot at them.

Harry blinked.

'No, Professor,' said Hermione. 'Why?'

'Let me see... I think five points each to Gryffindor for refusing to be provoked.' Professor McGonagall smiled again, then waved them off to the hospital wing.

* * *

'That was jolly nice of her,' Ron said later as they sat at the dinner table.

'Yes,' agreed Harry, 'but I wonder why she did it?'

'Probably because it was the first time she didn't see you and Malfoy trying to turn each other into beetles,' said Hermione around a mouthful of pumpkin juice. She swallowed. 'I mean, usually the instant he goes for his wand you're after him. Why not this time?'

'I wasn't fast enough, and then when it was only sparks...' Harry said. He raised his bandaged hand -- his wand hand. 'I didn't think it'd blister. Are your hands okay, Hermione?'

Hermione looked ruefully down at them. 'They're itchy from that lotion Madam Pomfrey put on, but I think they'll be all right,' she said. 'Only I've got Arithmancy homework, and I wanted to get it done tonight.'

'I'll help,' said Ron surprisingly. 'If you tell me what to write, I'll write it for you.'

Hermione looked at him. 'Really? Well, all right,' she said. 'I really want to get it done, so if you don't mind...'

Ron went slightly red. 'Of course I don't mind,' he mumbled. Then he stuffed his mouth full of food before he could say another word.

Kelsey passed by the table and leaned over to say something to Hermione, fingers flying.

'Malfoy attacked us,' Hermione said. She pointed him out. 'Remember, he was the one who...' She started signing, a little clumsily because of the bandages, and Kelsey nodded. Then she raised her wand and made a noise in the back of her throat, touching the wand first to Hermione's hands, then rubbing it over Harry's bandage.

'Hey...'

'It's not itching any more...'

'Kelsey, what did you do?' Harry asked.

The wand wrote. _Fixed it._

'Yes, but how?' asked Ron.

_A spell I learned from my father._

'You should tell Madam Pomfrey,' said Hermione. 'It could be very useful to her.'

Kelsey shrugged, then shook her head. _Not supposed to tell. You can take those bandages off now._ And with that, she whisked off towards the Ravenclaw table, where Cho Chang was keeping her place.

'That's amazing,' said Harry, beginning to unwind his bandage. 'There's no sign of blistering or anything.'

Hermione dragged her own bandages off. 'I can't believe it,' she said, looking down at her unmarked hands. 'No wonder we've got to keep all this a secret from the Muggles... can you imagine if they found out about Kelsey? She wouldn't get a minute's peace...'

'Like we never get from you,' said Ron smartly.

Hermione dropped her bandage on his head as she got up. 'I'm just going to run up to...'

'... the library,' chorused Harry and Ron. Hermione went red, seemed about to say something, then just walked quickly away. They saw her speak briefly to Kelsey on the way out of the room, and then she was gone.

'Wonder what she's going to read this time?' asked Ron.

'I dunno,' said Harry. 'Probably something about healing spells... or Scandinavia... or both.' He started cutting up his chicken and forking it into his mouth bite by bite, and though Ron looked like he'd like to continue the discussion, he didn't.

* * *

They were sitting in the Gryffindor common room later that evening when Hermione finally came back from the library, a thin book tucked under her arm.

'Hello, you two,' she said brightly. 'Ron, still want to help me with my Arithmancy homework?'

'I don't mind,' said Ron, 'but what did you go to the library for?'

'Oh, just wanted to look something up,' Hermione said vaguely. 'I'll just run up and get my books.' With that she disappeared up the stairs towards the girls' room, leaving Harry and Ron to exchange puzzled glances.

'What's she up to?' Ron asked.

'Dunno,' said Harry. 'You might try and find out, though, you're working with her.'

'Aren't you staying down here?'

Harry held up the book Hermione had given him for his birthday. 'I just want to finish this chapter, and then I'm going up to bed. Katie's booked the Quidditch pitch again tomorrow morning, and I'd like a decent night's sleep if I'm going to be flying in the morning.'

'Fair enough,' Ron nodded.

Hermione returned at that moment, her Arithmancy book, roll of parchment, and quill all balanced in her arms. Crookshanks the orange cat was oiling his way around her ankles, nearly causing her to trip about four times as she crossed the room. She dumped her books on the table and she and Ron settled down to work.

Harry turned the pages of his book, but his attention kept returning to the pair: red head and brown head bent over the paper, the light of the fire sending alternating shadows and light patterns dancing over them. Hermione had almost golden strands in her hair which the firelight picked out, and Ron's hair was the same: it looked like a flame which had escaped the fireplace.

'I'm heading up to bed,' he said presently, and was answered only by a 'Mmmm,' from Hermione and a 'See you later,' from Ron. Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, Harry looked back to see them totally absorbed in their work... or was it something else?

* * *

Quidditch practice the next morning was fast and furious. Harry raced for the Golden Snitch what seemed like eighty times, each time capturing the small ball with its furiously beating wings firmly in one hand. Their new Keeper was a sixth-year he didn't know named Danica Adams, a tall girl who kept Fred, Angelina and Alicia (who were acting as the opposition) from scoring at every turn. George kept the single Bludger away from Harry, often hitting it directly at his twin. Katie zoomed all over the place, yelling directions and praise.

When they finally landed, the twins were sweating and even Harry had to wipe his forehead. Danica was applauded by everyone. This was her first Quidditch practice since she'd only arrived the night before, having taken time off to recover from a bad bout of influenza. Ron and Hermione, in the stands, applauded the loudest.

'Nice one, Dan,' Katie said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. She looked around at her team. 'Now, we want to play like that against Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff don't matter so much, they're a load of duffers, but the other two are the ones to watch out for.'

On the other side of the pitch a group of seven students dressed in Slytherin green walked out onto the grass. Katie subtly moved the Gryffindor team away, until they were on the path back to the castle.

'They'll play nasty this year,' she said. 'I just _know_ it.' Judging by the look on her face, she was sure she was right, and nobody wanted to argue.

'That's okay, Katie,' said Fred. 'We can beat them any time... if they want to be slimy they're only going to slip off their brooms anyway.' There was a laugh at this, and Harry risked a glance back to see if the Slytherins had heard. Malfoy, the smallest of the team, had one fist raised and seemed to be yelling something, but what it was they couldn't hear, and didn't care.

'That's the spirit, Fred,' said Angelina. 'We can beat them, we can get the Cup, and anyone who doesn't agree shouldn't even be on this team.' She glared around. 'Am I right?'

'YOU'RE RIGHT!' everyone cheered. As they walked back towards the castle for breakfast Harry looked back again to see the Slytherins staring after them, and he honestly didn't care.

* * *

After breakfast was the most boring class on their timetable (apart from Divination), History of Magic. Professor Binns was the most interesting thing about the class because he was a ghost. Rumour had it that one day he'd headed for the classroom to teach, and simply left his body behind in the staffroom. It hadn't impaired his teaching style much -- it was as dead as he was. The only vaguely interesting thing about him was that each day he entered the classroom through the blackboard, but even the novelty of this wore off after a while.

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in an interested-looking row near the back, facing the front and pretending to listen. Harry scribbled on a bit of parchment and flipped it over to Ron.

_What d'you think of Danica Adams? Good Keeper, hey?_

Ron wrote back, _She's good all right, she'll work well with the rest of the team. Does she like you people?_

_Yeah, of course! Katie recommended her, and I reckon she was right._

'What are you two doing?' Hermione hissed. 'Professor Binns is giving you a pretty suspicious look, you know.'

Harry looked up to see the ghost wavering at the front of the room looking sternly at him and Ron. Guiltily he copied down a few dates from the blackboard, though he wasn't certain what was meant to be so wonderful about the relationship between witchcraft and World War One. There didn't seem to be one, and Professor Binns was quite proud of this.

'With all the scheming, with all the killing and fights that broke out over witchcraft, especially in regards to the Salem witch trials of 1692, it's a stroke of luck that we were not implicated in any of the big wars of the Muggle world,' he droned.

Ron nudged Hermione. 'Wonder if he's the reincarnation of Abigail Williams?' he whispered, and Hermione couldn't help but laugh. The image of the Professor in the old-fashioned peasant's dresses of the era was just too much for her.

'Miss Granger! Are you paying attention?' Professor Binns said.

'Yes, sir,' Hermione said hastily, sitting up straight and trying to look attentive. Harry grinned to himself -- at some point or other the whole school had had to perfect the art of pretending to attend to Professor Binns, and from what he could see, Hermione had it down pat. The Professor turned back to his blackboard, and Hermione nearly fell asleep with her eyes open as he continued to ramble on. Harry caught her eye and shook his head mock-disapprovingly, and Hermione waved him away regally.

* * *

Surprisingly, Ron seemed to have learnt something from the class.

'What he was trying to say, I think, was that in a lot of cases where people suspected witchcraft, there weren't really any witches involved,' he said.

'Of course not,' Hermione scoffed, 'they'd be far too intelligent to let themselves be caught and killed.' She shifted her books from under one arm to the other and nearly tripped over the trailing end of her bootlace. She knelt to fix it and her wand slipped from under her robes and fell on the floor. 'Oh, bother!' she said crossly.

– but Hermione's hands had already been healed.

Harry simply added this to his list of things to not bother thinking about unless they turned serious -- he'd rather think about Quidditch than wonder why Ron was acting so strangely.

'So what _were_ you looking up in the library last night?' he asked Hermione as a change of subject.

Hermione stood up. 'Just this and that,' she said vaguely.

'Oh, go on, tell us,' Ron said.

'If you must know, I was trying to find out what sort of a spell could let Kelsey be such a good healer,' Hermione said. 'She's such a young girl, and yet she's so talented...'

'How does she cast her spells, anyway?' Ron asked as they continued on their way back to Gryffindor Tower. 'She seems to be speaking some kind of language, but if she's supposed to be mute...'

'She _is_ mute, but that's no ordinary language,' Hermione said. 'Even I don't know what it is, though -- they've never said anything about it, not even in that feature _The Daily Prophet_ did on her.'

'It sounds sort of familiar, though,' Harry said thoughtfully. 'Like I've heard it before...'

'Well, you're the expert on languages, aren't you?' Ron asked idly. 'You're the Parselmouth, after all.'

Harry stopped stock-still. 'Ron, you've got it!' he yelled, making a couple of first-years nearby jump and look curiously at him. 'It's not Parseltongue, but it sounds like it... Hermione, can you find out if there are any other animal languages like that?'

Hermione looked downcast. 'I could try, Harry,' she said, 'but there are millions of species of animal, how would I ever possibly work it out?'


	3. Dragon's Dialect

However, it wasn't as hard as Hermione had anticipated to discover Kelsey's 'secret language'. They were sitting at Gryffindor table at lunchtime, Hermione with her nose buried in a book, when Harry

_Can I join you three for lunch?_

'Sure,' Harry said. 'Take a seat.' He was vaguely surprised that a Ravenclaw would want to eat at the Gryffindor table -- usually students stuck to their own House tables -- and Cho Chang wasn't even with her. Harry spotted her over at the Ravenclaw table, chattering away to other members of their Quidditch team. She saw him looking, and waved. Harry waved back, feeling the by-now-familiar rush of blood to his cheeks at her attention.

Kelsey seated herself between Harry and Hermione, who looked up from her book. A great big smile appeared on her face, and the two began signing away as fast as they could. Hermione's book fell to the table, forgotten, and Harry was able to read the title on the front cover: _Magical Creatures: Their Origins and Abilities_, by Una C. O'Ron. Either Hermione was taking it into her own hands to learn some extra information for their Care of Magical Creatures class, or she was investigating the possible animal languages Kelsey might be speaking.

Then the thought of Care of Magical Creatures reminded Harry that they hadn't heard anything about a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Both classes seemed to be being managed by substitute teachers -- he'd heard Ernie MacMillan of Hufflepuff complaining that Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was hopeless at teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, and someone else had said that at least he was better than having Professor Vector, the Arithmancy witch, for Care of Magical Creatures.

'Ron,' he said.

'Mmmm?'

'Who's teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts this year, do you know?'

'It's a new teacher,' Hermione put in, somehow continuing her signed conversation with Kelsey at the same time. 'She's only just arrived today. I saw her talking to Dumbledore before.'

_Her name is Professor Firenze,_ Kelsey told them. _She is from Italy, at least that's what I heard. She looks it too -- she's got really dark hair and eyes. Almost the complete opposite of me, really_. Harry could imagine -- Kelsey's hair was pale blonde and her eyes were blue.

'Really? D'you know if she's any good?' Ron asked, interested.

_So people say_. Kelsey's mouth drew into a thin line. _They say she is very knowledgeable about the Dark Arts_. She waved her wand over this last sentence almost before Harry finished reading, and he wondered why she didn't want to talk about it.

'Do you know her?' he asked.

_There's always that possibility._

'Come on, Kelsey, you can tell us. We're your friends,' Hermione said.

_I value friendship highly. Some people use it as a cheap commodity. But I value yours, because I know you are sincere. There are many people at this school who are not._

Harry wondered if it was as a result of speaking magically that Kelsey spoke so formally, but taking into account the other things he knew about her, he decided it probably wasn't. But more words were appearing midair, and Harry turned back to keep reading. The sounds of the Great Hall dulled to little more than a background roar, and he was aware of Ron leaning past him to read as well.

_Because I trust you I'm going to tell you the truth about why I'm mute, and how I can still use magic despite my disability. I sense that you want to know the story. But it is a long one. Do you have any classes after lunch?_

'No, we don't,' said Hermione immediately, without needing to check her time table. Ron and Harry had faith in her memory, and nodded in agreement.

_Then I'm inviting you to the Ravenclaw common room. I'll meet you at the entrance to the dungeons at two o'clock and lead you there. Don't try and find the room yourself -- even Cho Chang got lost once, and that was last year. _Kelsey grinned with high good humour, then gave her wand a command. It cleared the air and she tucked it back into her pocket. She reached for a plate of food, and refused to communicate in any way for the rest of lunchtime.

* * *

At two o'clock that afternoon, Harry, Ron and Hermione were waiting impatiently for Kelsey at the entrance to the dungeons. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had been past three times already, their interest piqued by the three Gryffindors hanging around so close to the entrance to their Tower.

But at last Kelsey arrived, slinking around a corner and coming up silently behind the trio. Her presence made them jump, and she laughed silently, signing something even Harry and Ron could guess at: _Boo!_

'Hi, Kelsey,' Hermione said, with obvious relief at being able to get away from the slimy Slytherins. 'Let's get going, shall we?'

_Yep! _Kelsey 'said' with her wand. _Come around this way, we'll go in the side entrance._ She set off down the corridor and the three followed her, grateful that Malfoy and his cronies were at least temporarily out of sight.

They came to a large portrait hidden away down a very short side corridor. Only one lantern was burning in the corridor, but by its light Hermione still spotted something: a tiny Ravenclaw eagle, painted next to the portrait.

Kelsey 'said' something in her strange guttural language, and the portrait, which was of a pretty-looking young redhead sitting in a library, opened wide. 'Hello, Kelsey,' the redhead said as Kelsey stepped to the hole. A frown formed on her face as she saw the three Gryffindors behind her, and she asked, 'Who are they?'

_Friends, Portia,_ Kelsey said. _They are allowed in. They are my guests. They are your guests._

'Pass, friends,' Portia said kindly, waving them past with a regal gesture. Harry, Ron and Hermione stepped through the dark gap, and the portrait swung closed behind them. For a moment they were engulfed in utter darkness. Then a light flared -- Kelsey's wand -- and suddenly the lanterns fixed around the room all burst into life, and the fireplace began to crackle merrily.

'Wow,' Hermione said, gazing around, and the other two could see why she was impressed.

Blue and bronze velvet draped the walls, making the room seem cosy and warm. The fireplace had a giant bronze eagle emblazoned on the wall over it, and its eyes were real sapphires embedded into the stone. With a flick of her wand Kelsey made blue flames appear with the rest in the fireplace, and every second lantern around the room had blue glass in it. The chairs were plush and comfy-looking, even the ones drawn up to the heavy carved desks, which were made of a wood that matched the bronzed colour of the wall drapes. The archway over the stairs across the room was also heavily carven, with images of eagles the predominant figures. A gallery on the same wall as the fireplace honoured past Ravenclaw students, but Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff was there as well. Harry wondered if Cho Chang had had that put there, but remembered that there was a picture of him in the Gryffindor Tower common room as well.

But the one thing that seemed to have impressed Hermione the most was the books.

Shelf upon shelf of books lined every spare bit of wall. From flimsy paperbacks which looked Muggle-made, to giant leather-bound tomes which impressed a sense of serious magic on her mind, every sort of book was represented. Aside from the library, this had to be the biggest single collection of books in the school.

'_Look_ at this place...' she breathed.

'Come on Hermione, sit down,' Ron said, nudging her with his elbow. 'Kelsey's got a far more interesting story to tell than anything in any of these mouldy old books.' Hermione sat down reluctantly, in an armchair near the fire with the others, still casting longing glances around the room.

_Now that I have your attention, Hermione, I will tell you my story. If you would just reach out, all of you, and take hands? Ron, you take mine; Harry, you too; Hermione, you pull your chair up between them and hold hands too. Good._

Once they were linked in a circle, Kelsey instructed them to close their eyes.

'We won't be able to see your words,' Ron began, but Kelsey quieted him with a single look. Eleven years old or not, the girl had an incredibly powerful presence. _Trust me_.

They closed their eyes, and were suddenly mid-air.

* * *

'Help!' Hermione said, trying not to look down.

Harry looked around, trying to work out what was going on, and realised they were seated on some kind of scaly creature. A head lifted in front of them, wings beat either side -- they were riding a dragon! Kelsey was sitting on its neck and stroked it lovingly before she raised her wand and the by-now familiar shimmering blue words began to form in the air.

_You're currently sitting on the neck of Duffy. She's one of my two pet dragons -- the other one is Danny, but at this time he's sick. We'll be landing at the Lofoten Islands soon, but I thought you would enjoy the ride._ She grinned. _This wand is birch, nice and whippy, with a dragon's whisker core which came from Danny. When we land nobody will see you or me, but you will be able to see me -- both as I am now and the way I was when it happened_.

Beyond that she would say no more.

Duffy flew onward, body rising and falling with every beat of her majestic wings. Riding a dragon was unlike any other experience Harry'd ever known. He'd ridden his broomstick, of course, and he'd ridden Buckbeak, the Hippogriff, but neither of them compared to this. Though Duffy didn't have the speed and lightness of his Firebolt, she had a certain undeniable grace in her slow movements, and when they finally circled and came to land on the snowy ground, Harry was almost sorry to slide down the great beast's neck and dismount.

'That was incredible, Kelsey,' Ron said, turning to pat Duffy. But the dragon was gone. 'Hey, where'd...'

_She's just disappeared_, said Kelsey. _She's not really that big when I am the age you will see me at. My sister Brynja is twelve, and I am three. Duffy and Danny are only babies, and I am receiving them for my birthday, as you will see_.

She led them around a snow-covered hillock to a house on the far side, with smoke coming from the chimney and snow on the roof. They walked through the door without opening it, which reinforced to Ron and Hermione that this was just some kind of vision Kelsey was showing them. Harry, of course, had experienced this kind of thing before, and was quite composed as they faded through a wall and came out in a bedroom.

Four people were gathered there: a blonde girl who looked almost the way Kelsey did now -- this was evidently Brynja; a younger girl, little more than a toddler -- Kelsey herself; and two older people, a man and a woman, who were obviously Kelsey's parents. They all wore finely embroidered robes with dragon motifs, and were watching as little Kelsey played with Duffy and Danny, who were both about a foot long and spat sparks, not fire.

'Lucky Kelsey,' Brynja said. There was no mistaking the tone in her voice: she was jealous.

'Now, now, Bryn, you know that the Scandinavian Blue only hatches its eggs once every eight years. There simply weren't any around when you were three,' the girls' father said.

'I wanted a Norwegian Ridgeback anyway,' Brynja sulked. 'They grow heaps bigger than these puny little things, and they're cuter.' Duffy let out a hiss at this, and Kelsey gave the tiny dragon a hug.

'Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, Mummy.' It seemed she paused a moment before adding, 'Thank you, Bryn.' It made no difference -- Brynja still sneered and walked out of the room.

'Whatever are we going to do with that girl, Freya?' Kelsey's father sighed. 'Every day she becomes more and more impossible... she keeps going out to the stables and hanging around that Ridgeback that we're minding, and the handlers can't get rid of her.'

'Oh, Davyn, you worry too much,' said Freya. She looked to the bed, where her youngest daughter had fallen asleep, Duffy curled around her, Danny still trying to play, but his head sagging. 'We can leave her alone -- she's exhausted from all the excitement, dear girl.' They left the room, failing to notice Brynja lurking in the shadows outside.

Almost as soon as Freya and Davyn had left, Brynja entered her sister's room. Her lip was curled in an expression of jealousy, and she thrummed a slim wand against the palm of her right hand.

'Dear, sweet, little Kelsey,' she sneered, raising the wand. 'They won't like you so well when you can't even thank them for their generous gifts.' She began muttering the words of a spell, face twisted in concentration, and failed to notice that Danny, lying beside Kelsey, had opened his eyes and was watching her.

'_Loquai Cancellare_!' she finally cried, pointing the wand at her small sister's throat. Kelsey's eyes opened and she shrieked. Danny reared up and, growling, spat sparks, which mingled with the sparks of the spell Brynja had created. Kelsey, still screaming, ducked and rolled away, but the spell hit her with unerring accuracy and sank into her throat. Kelsey's mouth was still wide open, but her words were suddenly stilled.

Hearing her parents running to see what was happening, Brynja tried to lift Danny up, but the small dragon spat sparks again and Brynja's fine blonde hair caught fire. She put it out, but a blistering red patch marked where he had burnt her cheek. Cursing, she ran, diving for the window and out into the blizzard which had begun to rage, just as Freya and Davyn reached the doorway.

'Kelsey? Kelsey! Oh my God!' Freya ran and caressed her daughter's throat, wand out, quickly weaving spells, but to no avail. Not a single charm would work. All the while Kelsey growled and hissed in a strange guttural voice, but Danny was silent though Duffy was hissing in distress.

In getting in the way of Brynja's spiteful spell, Danny had given his voice to Kelsey.

* * *

'So this language you speak... it's dragon's words, isn't it?' Ron asked as Kelsey brought them back to the Ravenclaw common room and they all opened their eyes.

Kelsey nodded. _Danny gave up his voice for me, and though my parents called in the most powerful witches and wizards from all around, none could heal me. It seems that Brynja created her own spell by weaving parts of spells she barely knew together, and Danny's interference only served to make it more incomprehensible. But he gave me the gift of some speech, and as long as I can still cast spells I am happy. People hear what I have to say... why should I worry about anything else?_

'That's right!' Hermione said, giving her friend a hug. 'Especially those Slytherins!'

'Did anyone ever find Brynja and punish her?' Harry asked.

No, Kelsey said. _She is still out there somewhere. She stole the Norwegian Ridgeback my parents were sheltering and disappeared from Norway. Some say they've seen her, but when we ask for proof they have none. Brynja was extremely intelligent -- it ran in the family, and even at twelve she would be smart enough to evade people until she could find somewhere to live without fear of being found_.

'So you don't know where she is?' Ron asked. 'She could be anywhere, living under any name?'

_Yes. As far as the world is concerned, Brynja Florence no longer exists._ Kelsey looked sad.

But she smiled widely all of a sudden and waved her wand at the stairs to the bedrooms, uttering a sibilant hiss not unlike Harry's Parseltongue sounds. In a moment a tattered-looking book appeared, floating along in mid-air and into Kelsey's hand. She opened it to the first page and the others saw that it was a photo album.

_This is Duffy, who you 'rode' on, and Danny_, she told them, pointing to two pictures.

In the first a sleek-looking young dragon was posed against a backdrop of craggy, snow-covered mountains. She had glimmering baby-blue scales and darker wings, and a very, very toothy grin. She kept winking. In the second, a male dragon, distinguishable by his darker colouring, was circling against a cloudy grey sky. A small head was just visible over one shoulder -- Kelsey!

'How old were you when this picture was taken?' asked Hermione, pointing to Kelsey in the picture.

_I was five. These two were growing up fast! In two years they had grown to more than fifteen feet long, and they have only just begun to slow their growth. When I left the Lofoten Islands, Duffy was a full twentyyards__ long!_ Kelsey said.

'Why did your father say Brynja couldn't have the dragons when she was younger? What's so special about being three years old and having a pet dragon?' Ron said.

_It's the age that humans can bond best with dragons. Something to do with being bigger than them, but not overwhelming them. The Blues' last hatching before Danny and Duffy was when Brynja was four, and they didn't like her. My father told me so, but he never told her. He didn't want to offend her._

Harry gazed at the pictures. A sudden idea came to him. 'Kelsey?'

_Yes, Harry?_

'Is there any chance we can show these pictures to someone? Can you tell Hagrid some stories about your dragon farm? I just know he'd love to hear about it.'

* * *

Hagrid was delighted to see the four of them on his doorstep later that afternoon, opening the door so quickly he slammed it into his own shoulder. Hermione fussed over him while Harry and Ron helped Kelsey make friends with Fang, Hagrid's dog.

'It's good ter see yeh,' Hagrid said, offering them tea. The tea was safe enough to drink, but Kelsey followed the others' lead and declined any of the rock cakes Hagrid offered next. The kindly groundskeeper wasn't offended, taking one of the solid-looking cakes for himself and putting the plate back on a shelf. 'What brings yeh down here? I'd've thought yeh'd have classes ter be at.'

'No, we don't at the moment, Hagrid,' Hermione said. 'We thought you'd like to meet Kelsey Florence... she's got some pictures you'd love to see.'

_Hello, Hagrid. It's fantastic to meet you, my Dad says you're mad on dragons. Davyn Florence, maybe you know the name?_

Hagrid read this slowly and a wide grin spread itself across his face. 'Davyn Florence, sure! I met Davy at a conference on dragons once... he was amazing, a wonderful man... he really knew his stuff. What's these pictures yeh've got ter show me?'

Kelsey flipped open her photo album to the first page and Hagrid was instantly enraptured. He bent his shaggy head over the book, muttering and exclaiming about the graceful flight of Danny, the cheeky posturing of Duffy... Kelsey soon gave the book over to him, though she had been patiently holding it open for him, and Hagrid slowly turned the pages, his mouth hanging half-open at the sight of the magnificent creatures depicted in every picture.

'Is Duffy really that much of a show-off?' Ron asked.

_Absolutely! She loves attention, and she and Danny are really almost human, the way they act... it's just incredible. _Kelsey smiled broadly. It was obvious she loved talking about the dragons. _And their little daughter Colby, well, she's just like a member of the family!_

'Yeh've done a brilliant job, Kelsey,' said Hagrid finally. 'These dragons couldn't ask for a better owner, no, an' I'd love ter meet them some day.' His eyes glittered with unshed tears as he reached out and engulfed Kelsey's small hand with both of his huge hairy paws.

_Maybe you will,_ Kelsey replied. _Maybe you will, Hagrid._

* * *

Kelsey didn't sit with them at dinner that night, sticking with her own House at this more crowded meal. But she and Cho Chang both shot frequent glances over from the Ravenclaw table during the meal, causing Harry to blush every time Cho's glance passed his way.

Hermione, of course, was reading a book on dragons. 'Hey, Harry, it says here that dragon's speech is known as 'Dragon's Dialect', and there have only been a handful of people who've ever learned to speak it... Kelsey's father is one of them... look!' There was a picture of Davyn Florence, standing beside a dragon easily four times his height, smiling and waving at the camera. The dragon slowly opened and closed its wings, the one time it did it rapidly was too much for Kelsey's father and he fell over in the wind. The dragon looked as it if was laughing.

'Can't imagine that dialect would be easy to learn,' Ron yawned, 'not with all that back of the throat stuff.' He took a mouthful of his apple juice and nearly spilt it all down his front.

'Ron, honestly,' Hermione said, 'be careful!'

Ron set his glass back on the table. 'I was being careful,' he said. 'I feel so tired, though...'

'Funny,' said Harry, 'I've felt a bit like that lately. And Hermione looked dead on the train on the way in. Maybe there's a bug going around.'

'I _hope_ not,' Hermione said, instantly looking distressed. 'What would that do to my schoolwork?'

'Oh, Hermione, can't your work wait for two days?' Ron asked. 'If this gets any worse I'm going to see Madam Pomfrey. I don't like being this tired.'

'You're probably just not used to being back at school,' Seamus Finnigan said from across the table. 'I've been a bit like that this year -- the holidays went on a bit too long for me, and in my mind they're still happening.'

'Thanks, Seamus,' Ron said gratefully. 'I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.'

The door from the front hall opened and the new teacher came into the dining room. She had long black hair and dark eyes, and seemed somehow familiar, but before Harry could work out why, she was past the Gryffindor table and sweeping up towards the staff table on the dais at the front.

'Excuse me, everyone,' Dumbledore called, standing up and clapping his hands, 'may I have your attention for a moment please?' The talking and laughing died down and all eyes swivelled to the front curiously -- normally announcements were made before the meal began.

'Sorry to interrupt your eating, but our new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher has just arrived,' Dumbledore said. 'I'd like you all to make Professor Bianca Firenze welcome.' There was a storm of clapping, particularly from the Ravenclaw table. Harry glanced over there and saw them all looking excitedly at Professor Firenze. 'Professor Firenze is from Italy, and is very experienced in dealing with the Dark Arts.'

'_Grazie_, Professor Dumbledore,' said Professor Firenze. 'I am sure I will be very happy here.' Her gaze roved over the tables and seemed to settle on Kelsey. 'I look forward to teaching you all a good lesson.' A few people laughed at this phrase, Draco Malfoy's nasty giggle the loudest. 'My English, she is not very good yet, so you will please excuse me any mistakes I may make.' With that she took a seat at the staff table to another round of applause.

Dumbledore remained standing. 'While I'm speaking -- and I'll only take another minute,' he added as someone groaned, ' -- I'd just like to congratulate everyone on the way you have helped Kelsey Florence integrate into the school. Miss Florence tells me she has settled in very well and is looking forward to the rest of the year.' Kelsey stood up and waved and got a louder round of applause than Professor Firenze had received, especially from her own table. It seemed that everyone (apart from a few spiteful Slytherins) already liked the mute girl. Even Pansy Parkinson looked like she was clapping. The main dissenters, of course, were Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

'Thank you all for paying attention,' Dumbledore said. 'And I trust you will spend the rest of the year well, especially our fifth-years, who of course have their O.W.L.s this year, and our seventh-years with their N.E.W.T.s.' He sat back down and the hall filled with the sound of voices again.

'I'd nearly forgotten about the O.W.L.s,' Ron muttered, looking a little worried. 'Not Divination!'

'I'll help you, Ron,' Harry said.

'Yeah, but this isn't like doing homework. We can't just make it all up,' Ron said.

'Well, you _knew_ this was the year we had to do them,' Hermione said bossily. 'Honestly, Ron, it's your own responsibility to be organised.'

'I just _know_ I'm going to fail the Potions exam,' put in Neville gloomily. 'Considering Snape's got it in for me...'

'He's got it in for all of us,' Ron said. 'We'll just have to work really hard for the rest of the year.' He looked dismal at the prospect of spending all his free time studying. 'If only we didn't have to take the O.W.L.s!'

'You _knew_ this was the year...'

'Oh, Hermione, shut up!'


	4. Quidditch Quarrels

Harry had scarcely time to think about his O.W.L.s after dinner, however. Katie had booked them in for more Quidditch practice, as their first practice match was on Saturday, three days away. Nobody was complaining about the amount of time they spent on the field, however: they all loved the game too much for that. The practice matches were a new idea of Madam Hooch's; she had thought of them as a way for the teams to determine if they were as good playing against other teams as within their own House teams. Word had it that Kyla Anderson, a Ravenclaw from Australia, had suggested the practice matches, arranged in a style similar to Aussie Rules football trials.

Danica Adams was a demon with a broomstick, as they soon discovered. No matter what George, Katie and Angelina did to try and get the Quaffle past her, all three of them working as Chasers for the moment to challenge their new player, she stopped them from scoring every time. Fred and Alicia worked on the sidelines with Harry. The Golden Snitch flittered about as Fred and Alicia alternated between hitting Bludgers at Harry and hitting them away from him.

Time and time again Harry swooped, reached out, and caught the Snitch firmly in one hand. Other times he snagged it by a wing. Once, Fred missed a Bludger, and it knocked the tail of Harry's Firebolt, sending him into a frenzied spin.

Ron and Hermione were sitting on the bleachers watching them. Hermione, as usual, had her head stuck in a book. Ron was watching Danica with a faintly jealous expression on his face. Harry resolved to ask him what that was all about later. It struck him that the pair was sitting awfully close together -- that was another thing he was wondering about, but it would have to wait. He ducked as Alicia's Bludger zoomed close by his head, and for the next few minutes was completely distracted by his pursuit of the Snitch -- no matter what he did, it was being particularly elusive this time.

Five minutes before the end of the hour-long training session, a group of seven people crossed the corner of the field, headed for the changing rooms. Harry couldn't see who they were at first, but as he swooped low and caught up the Snitch from where it hovered barely inches above the ground, he recognised Cho Chang and realised it was the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

'Ravenclaw have a very strong team this year,' Katie said as the team gathered for their post-practice pep talk. 'It's going to be hard to beat them on Saturday.'

'We can do it,' George said.

'Of course we can,' Fred chipped in. 'We've got the best team this school has ever seen!'

'Hufflepuff are a bunch of duffers,' said Danica, 'and even Slytherin are pretty shabby this year now that that creep Marcus Flint has left.' She sniffed, rather haughtily. 'Though I hear they're trying to rebuild the team -- pity that git Malfoy bought his way in, or they might be able to replace him with someone who could play worth a damn.'

'Danica!'

'Sorry, Katie.'

'But have you _seen_ the Ravenclaw lineup this year?' Angelina asked. 'They've got almost a completely new team. And do you know what? Cho Chang has been hinting around that they've even got a new Seeker!'

This was big news. Every eye of the Gryffindor team swivelled towards the changing rooms, hoping to find out who the new Seeker was.

Wearing robes of navy blue, the Ravenclaw team came out, Cho Chang leading them. She was a sixth-year now, and was the eldest on the team -- most likely the new Captain as well. Behind her were Elias Solomon and Nicholas Higgins, two fourth-year boys who had played on the team the previous year -- they were the Beaters and swung their clubs as they walked.

Following Elias and Nicholas were the other two Chasers: Nicholas' twin sister Jasmine, and Shane Casey, another fourth-year. Walking with them was the Ravenclaw Keeper, the Australian girl, Kyla Anderson who had only arrived at the school the previous year. A fifth-year with an outrageous sense of humour, Kyla was walking backwards and coaxing the last member of their team to come out of the rooms.

Cho reached the Gryffindor team and gave them a friendly smile. 'Hi, all,' she said. 'It's a nice night for practice, isn't it?' She was right. The sky was clear, though darkening towards dusk, and every blade of grass on the Quidditch field stood out in sharp relief.

'It sure is,' Angelina said. 'So,' she added, not very casually, 'we hear you've got a new Seeker?'

'Oh yes,' said Kyla with a grin, 'she's just coming. She wanted to give her broom a quick polish before she came out.' Her Australian accent was fascinating, and apparently had gotten George's attention. The next thing she said quashed it, though. 'Honestly, she cares more about her broom than I care about my boyfriend.'

'So who is she?' Harry began, but neither Cho nor Kyla had time to answer, as a small figure harum-scarumed across the playing field towards them, hitching up the bottom of her robes and almost stumbling. Elias moved to help her steady herself, and she thanked him with a flash of her wand.

It was, of course, Kelsey Florence.

'_Kelsey_?' Harry said after a moment's surprised silence.

_That's me!_ She gave him a mischievous smile, and perched side-saddle on her broom, which hovered about two feet off the ground. _Meet your new greatest opponent!_

'Congratulations, Kelsey,' Katie said sincerely, and the rest of the Gryffindor team were quick to add their congratulations as well. Katie turned to Cho. 'It's good to see a few more girls besides yourself on the team this year, Cho -- I suppose you're Captain now, too?' Cho nodded, going a little red. Harry found himself realising how pretty she looked when she blushed, and went more than a little red himself.

'Oh dear, Nico,' Fred said, pretending to clutch his chest in woe, 'they're going to stamp out all male participation in Quidditch! They're going to overrun us with their femininity!'

'Shut up, Fred,' Angelina said, not unkindly, and Fred went quiet, grinning anyway.

_Not likely that would happen,_ said Kelsey. _Not with the famous Slytherin all-male team._

'Gits,' Danica said cheerfully, and everyone was rather inclined to agree with her.

'Look,' Jasmine said, checking her watch, 'Cho, do you think the Gryffindors would mind terribly staying out here for another hour? Only it'd be much easier to practice with a whole team.' Cho nodded, and Jasmine looked at Katie. 'D'you want to stick around?' she asked.

They had been practicing for two hours already that day, but the simultaneous 'Yes!' from all the Gryffindors more than showed their willingness to stick around. Harry zoomed over to Ron and Hermione, noticing that they weren't talking, but were just sitting in silence.

'We're staying to practice against the Ravenclaws,' he said. 'D'you two want to stay, or will you go inside?'

'I'm going in,' Hermione said immediately. 'It might be a nice night and all that, but it's seven o'clock and if I don't go and get started on my Arithmancy homework, I'll never get it finished.'

'Ron, will you stay?' Harry asked, almost assuming that his friend would assent immediately. Next to Divination lessons, homework was the most boring thing on Ron's list. But to his surprise, Ron shook his head.

'Nah -- think I'll go inside. I have... something to do for Divination,' he finished, and got up to hurry after Hermione, who was already halfway down the bleachers. Harry turned his broom, a little puzzled, and flew back to where the others were already practicing, Kelsey a little blue blur darting about.

It wasn't until halfway through the practice that he realised. 'Hang on -- we don't even _have_ Divination homework tonight...'

* * *

Ron and Harry walked slowly towards the Quidditch field the next morning, intending to see what they could find out about the Slytherins' new team lineup. Draco Malfoy, of course, would remain as the Seeker, but most of the team had left at the end of last year, being seventh-years.

'Oh, look at that,' Ron said disgustedly as they reached the treeline and peeked around at the Slytherins. Draco was on the sidelines with Pansy Parkinson, and had an arm around her shoulders as he laughed about something with the Slytherin Quidditch team. Pansy was gazing at him adoringly, and Ron turned aside, pretending to vomit.

'Er, yuck,' Harry said. 'How can he do that?'

'What, because it's her, or because it's anyone?' Ron asked suddenly.

'Well,' Harry said, rather confused, 'I dunno... because it's her, I guess...' He gave Ron a keen look. 'Why?'

Ron shrugged and turned back to the field, his ears slowly turning the same red as his hair. Harry stared at him for a moment longer, then shook his head and looked back over at Malfoy.

Apart from the skinny little Seeker, the only two members of the team left from previous years were two seventh-year Chasers, Craig Warrington and Alonzo Montague. Now there were four new players, and beside Harry, Ron whistled.

'Look... that's Jackson Ritter... he's probably their Keeper... and those two big blokes would be their Beaters... who are they?'

'Butch Mathers and Dale Henson,' Harry said, recognising the pair vaguely. 'They're only fourth-years, big, aren't they? And that last one must be their last Chaser...'

'Blimey, that's Daniel Castell,' Ron said. 'He's sixth-year, he's a real nut...'

'What are you two doing?' demanded a voice from behind them.

Ron and Harry jumped about a foot.

'Hermione, you scared us,' Ron said when he was breathing normally again. 'What're you doing out here?'

'I was looking for you two. What are you doing?' Hermione repeated.

'Checking out the opposition,' Ron said with a grin. 'All brawn and no brain, as usual...'

'Better than all freckles and no friends,' said a nasty voice from the field. Malfoy had broken away from Pansy's side and was looming over the trio, grinning. 'At least we've got the stuff to win.'

'What stuff's that, cheating hexes?' Hermione asked.

The smile faded from Malfoy's face. 'We don't _cheat_,' he said. 'We never have.'

'Yeah? I'd like to see you _not_ cheat,' said Ron. 'How's your girlfriend Pansy?'

Malfoy snarled. 'Better than your little Mudblood girlfriend,' he growled.

Ron tore his wand free of his robes and held it up. 'What did you just say?' he asked calmly, but Harry could see the anger he was holding back. 'Go on, Malfoy, say it again. I'd love to seal your lying, revolting mouth shut.'

'You couldn't do it, Weasley: you're too stupid,' Malfoy said, but it was clear that on this Gryffindor ground, without Crabbe and Goyle to back him up, he was nervous. He reached for his own wand, but before he could get it out -- which would surely have started a real fight -- Pansy came hurrying over.

'Draco, what are you doing?' she simpered. 'Come on, leave those idiots alone... it's time to practice, not that you need it, of course...' Malfoy allowed her to lead him away, casting evil glances back over his shoulder at Ron, who, trembling, hid his wand back among his robes.

'What was all that about?' Hermione asked.

'Nothing,' Ron managed. 'He's just being...' He stopped, and slammed a fist into the tree trunk beside him, then stormed off in the direction of the castle.

Harry looked at Hermione, one eyebrow arching involuntarily. Hermione was red with anger.

'Honestly, Harry, I think if he weren't bound to come to a nasty end some day I'd kill him myself,' she said.

'Ron seems to take awful offence to Malfoy insulting you,' Harry said without thinking.

Hermione turned a little redder. 'Well... I suppose it's just because he's my friend... if he didn't jump in first every time, I suppose you'd do the same, wouldn't you?' she asked. 'I mean, I know I would, if Malfoy called _you_ a Mudblood.'

'Being the son of Lily and James Potter doesn't make me much of a Mudblood,' Harry said dryly. He tucked his arm through Hermione's and began leading her back in the direction of the castle. 'Come on, 'Mione, let's go and have breakfast.'

* * *

Ron's sister Ginny was sitting with Ron at the Gryffindor table when Harry and Hermione entered the hall. The two were talking quietly but avidly, but stopped when Harry and Hermione reached them. Kelsey, Cho and Kyla were the only ones over at the Ravenclaw table beside them, and Harry realised how late they were for breakfast.

'Hello, you two,' Ron said. 'Kill Malfoy yet?'

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'I'm very tempted,' she said. 'The way he's behaving... I don't see why Professor Dumbledore lets him stay here, after everything that's happened.'

'If Malfoy got expelled, I'd have to go too,' said Harry with a mouthful of toast. 'You have to admit that trouble seems to like me.'

'Trouble's not the only... ow!' Ron added. He rubbed his shin as Ginny gave him a rather strange look -- it seemed she was warning him of something, but what? Harry decided to ignore it and turned back to his breakfast.

'That Pansy Parkinson's a good girlfriend for him,' Hermione said disdainfully. 'She's almost as obnoxious as he is.'

'_Nobody_ could be as obnoxious as Draco Malfoy,' Ron said firmly, and the others nodded in agreement. 'Look at all the stuff he's done... he's so horrible, I wonder how his parents can stand him...'

'They probably can't,' Ginny said. 'If I was his mother, I think I'd smack him... he's so mean!'

'You're right, Ginny, but you should stay away from him. It's bad enough that he picks on us, there's no reason he should get away with harassing you too,' Harry said. Ginny nodded, cheeks suddenly flaming, and hastily occupied herself with her porridge.

'What have we got first thing today, 'Mione?' Harry asked a few minutes later as, plates cleared, they were getting ready to leave the Great Hall.

'Defence Against the Dark Arts,' the walking timetable replied. 'I don't like the new way they've organised the timetable... it's strange how many free sessions we have.'

'Don't worry, 'Mione, you can spend them in the library studying,' Ron said. Hermione shook her head, turning pink, and said goodbye to Ginny, who was going over to speak to Kelsey.

'Did you get to see the new Slytherin Quidditch team?' Ginny asked, turning around. 'Are they a bunch of horrible people as usual?' She smiled, her cheek dimpling slightly. 'Honestly, I don't know why they bother... well, have fun!' And she hurtled over to the Ravenclaw table.

'She's nutty,' Ron said.

* * *

Defence Against The Dark Arts was the class most people looked forward to. The ten Gryffindor fifth-years trooped up the stairs to the classroom, which was on the third floor. Parvati and Lavender, the gigglers of the group, were in the lead; Harry, Ron and Hermione trailed at the back.

'It's going to be interesting having a woman teacher for Defence Against The Dark Arts,' Ron said. 'D'you think she knows her stuff?'

'Ron, I hardly think Professor Dumbledore would let a teacher come here who didn't know what they were on about. They have to be _experienced_, you know...' Hermione's voice trailed off as Ron manufactured a loud sneeze which sounded rather like the word 'Lockhart!'.

The classroom was a large one, which looked different every year, as the new teacher invariably decorated it in his or her own personal style. This year it was strangely bare, without the numerous talismans, amulets, or other devices of previous years. A large mirror hung on one wall. That was all.

Professor Firenze was waiting patiently behind the teacher's desk at the front of the room. Her black hair was glossy, and her hands were neatly folded on the desk as she watched the class with a keen eye. She seemed to be mentally marking them off as they filed in and sat down, and when all ten of them were gathered she smiled softly to herself.

'_Buongiorno, miei bambini_,' she said. 'Good day, my children, and welcome to Defence Against The Dark Arts. This year will be very important for us with our O.W.L. exams, and so we will be working very hard.'

'_We_?' Ron muttered. 'I'll bet she just means _us_...'

'Sssh,' Hermione, who was paying intent attention to Professor Firenze, hissed.

'The first thing we will be learning about is how to deal with a fear of oneself. Many Dark wizards use their victims' inner secrets as a powerful weapon, and I will teach you how to combat this,' Professor Firenze said. Her English was pronounced carefully, and her accent was now slight. 'Will you all please line up to the mirror, and I will teach you this. I have brought this mirror with me from my homeland, and it is very special. I beg of you not to touch, please.'

The Gryffindors left their places and lined up in front of the mirror, Lavender and Parvati hanging back this time, nervous. Eventually, Harry found himself jostled to the front, and Professor Firenze smiled indulgently at him. Then her smile seemed to freeze, and crack from her face like ice.

'_Harry Potter_!' she gasped, her face working with emotion. 'Oh, many things have I heard about you!' She looked ready to faint, and Harry exchanged a rueful look with Ron. Hermione looked mildly disgusted.

'Er... yeah, that's me,' Harry said. 'Look, can we get on with this?'

'Oh, yes...' Professor Firenze regained her professionalism, and tapped the mirror with her wand. 'Harry, you will please to look in the mirror. Instead of your face, it will show your soul. If you think you cannot manage to see your true self, tell me now.'

'I can handle it,' Harry said a little defensively. 'What've I got to do when I do?'

'You will be attempting to use the Patronus charm,' Professor Firenze announced. 'It is an advanced charm, but I think you may be able to handle it for this small task. The incantation is--'

'_Expecto Patronum_,' Harry finished somewhat wearily. Behind him, the others were shuffling, and Lavender's unmistakable giggle, though muffled, was embarrassingly audible.

'You know it!'

'Just me,' Harry said. 'Look, why don't you let the others have a turn?' he added hastily, getting the sudden nasty feeling that this would be rather like fighting a Dementor. Professor Firenze looked disappointed, but allowed Harry to step away and Hermione to come forward.

Hermione, as usual, performed perfectly. For one moment, when Professor Firenze called up her true self in the mirror, she seemed to flinch, but then she raised her wand and yelled, '_Expecto patronum_!' so loudly it made Harry jump. A bright silver cloud exploded towards the mirror and was gone before anyone could see what form it had taken on. The image Hermione alone had seen clearly in the mirror vanished, and, on seeing this, the rest of the class members were eager to take their turns.

'That was easy,' Hermione said, coming to perch on the edge of a desk nest to Harry and watch the others try out the Patronus charm.

'It's not so easy when you have to do it for real,' Harry said grimly. Two years ago he had had to use the charm for real, and it was difficult to do when terror ran in your veins and you knew there was nothing else to do. Hastily he jerked his mind out of this trail of thought and turned his attention back to Hermione.

'Don't you think it's strange that we're being taught to battle ourselves?' she was saying. 'Some people must really be bad people deep inside for it to make any impact.'

'Why, what did you see?' Harry asked before he could think about it. Hermione just shook her head as Ron joined them, a little red in the face.

'It's hard,' he said. 'It doesn't just use any random bit of badness or cruelty to affect you. It uses memories of all the times you did something wrong, too.'

'Never mind, Ron,' Hermione said. 'I don't see why we're stu--' Her sentence was cut off with a long, rather unladylike yawn, which she attempted to hide behind her hand.

'Hermione, what is _wrong_ with you?' Ron asked. 'You're always tired lately, you study every night for ages instead of going to bed, and it's just not like you.'

'I'm fine, Ron,' Hermione said testily. 'Don't _worry_. I'm fine, I just want to make this year count, that's all.'

* * *

But Hermione wasn't fine, as she claimed. The next morning, which was Thursday, she didn't come down for breakfast. Harry and Ron waited as long as they dared, then had to hurry off to Transfiguration wondering what had happened.

'You don't suppose she caught a cold from all that wading we had to do yesterday, do you?' Ron asked. Their Care of Magical Creatures lesson the previous day had involved sloshing through a small swamp just within the boundaries of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid had decided they needed to focus on that rather conventional creature, the frog. They had had two sessions of hunting for the animals, a fairly fruitless effort which had only netted them five of the green creatures. Hagrid was keeping them down at his hut for further study, though the Slytherins' snide comments about how boring the frogs were probably meant they wouldn't be around for long.

'I don't know,' Harry said. 'She might have, although in that forest I'd be more worried about being eaten by a giant spider or something than about catching the common cold.'

'Are you two talking about _Hermione_?' Parvati's voice broke into the conversation. She and Lavender had been walking behind Harry and Ron for some time unnoticed. 'I thought you _knew_... she's gone up to the hospital wing?'

'What? Why?' Ron asked anxiously.

'She's got some Muggle virus,' Lavender said importantly. 'She was coming down with it for _ages_, and all the work she's been doing made her sick.'

Harry thought this description rang a bell, but they were at the door to the Transfiguration classroom and already a minute late. Professor McGonagall was waiting, a stern look on her face, and though Harry tried to ask Lavender what else she knew, Lavender shook her head as she passed under Professor McGonagall's reproving gaze.

* * *

Transfiguration just wasn't the same without Hermione. She was almost an expert at it, and as Harry and Ron struggled to keep up with Professor McGonagall's notes, they whispered to each other despondently.

'Wish 'Mione was here,' Ron started. 'She'd understand all this.'

'Yeah,' Harry said. 'I understand what the heading means,' -- 'Human Transfiguration' was all he'd copied so far -- 'but I don't understand the rest of it.'

'We'll go and visit her after History of Magic,' Ron said, scribbling industriously. 'She can read my notes--'

'--I doubt it,' Harry interjected, unable to decipher Ron's scrawl himself.

'--and tell us what they're about,' Ron finished, ignoring Harry's comment.

'Mr Weasley, have you got something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?' Professor McGonagall's sharp voice said. Ron looked up to see her staring at him and Harry. 'Or will you just pay attention instead?'

'Pay attention,' Ron mumbled. Professor McGonagall turned back to the board, and the session continued, but with Ron unable to pay any real attention.

* * *

History of Magic wasn't much better, with Professor Binns rebuking Ron twice for daydreaming. When they could finally leave the classroom and go up to the hospital wing, both Ron and Harry fairly ran along the corridors and up and down the staircases.

'Wish I could Apparate,' Ron said breathlessly as they arrived at the doorway to the hospital wing and looked inside for Madam Pomfrey. 'It'd make getting around a lot easier...'

'Hermione'd tell you that you couldn't Apparate or Disapparate in the Hogwarts grounds,' Harry said. 'She'd say it was in _Hogwarts: A History_, and ask why we hadn't bothered to read it yet.'

'Oh, that flaming book,' Ron said, knocking on the door when Madam Pomfrey didn't immediately appear. 'I've never seen it anywhere anyway...'

'Yes, boys?' Madam Pomfrey looked down at them, then recognised them. 'Oh, I suppose you're here to see your friend.'

'Yes,' Ron said immediately. 'Is she -- is she OK?'

'Yes, Weasley,' Madam Pomfrey said. 'But I'd strongly advise that you don't excite her. She needs to sleep, and she needs to get better. She has a Muggle illness known as mononucleosis, and has obviously overworked herself over the holidays. You can say hello to her and that's all.' She led them into the wing. 'Of course, she'll recover a lot faster here than she would in the Muggle world, but it's still quite serious. She'll be in here for at least a week, maybe more.'

Hermione was lying in bed in a private room, and the first thought that struck Harry when they entered was how pale she was. Her face was nearly as white as the pillow her head rested on. Her eyes were closed, and her lashes made dark circles on her pallid cheeks. Her throat looked puffy and swollen, and Harry remembered that the other name for mononucleosis was glandular fever.

''Mione?' Ron whispered.

Hermione's eyes opened, and she managed a smile. 'Hi... I'm so tired...'

'Don't talk too long,' Madam Pomfrey warned them. 'You've got five minutes.' She left the room, closing the door quietly as Ron and Harry sat down, one on either side of the bed.

'Will you... bring me my books?' Hermione asked, her voice barely there.

'Absolutely not!' Ron said. 'You need to get rest, Madam Pomfrey said, not be reading!' He patted her hand when she gave him a rather black look. 'Look, it's only for a little while, you'll be able to catch up.'

'What if... I don't?' Hermione looked scared. 'And me... a Prefect...'

'You _will_,' Harry said. 'There's nobody else who can do the work you do. It'll be easy. And don't worry about being a Prefect. Seamus is handling things okay.' This was probably not very consoling, but Harry couldn't think of anything better.

Hermione smiled again. 'Okay... I think...' She yawned widely, making no attempt to hide it. 'I think I'll get up tomorrow...'

'You most certainly will not,' Ron said. 'Madam Pomfrey says you'll be in here for at least a week, and if you don't stay here until she tells you that you can leave, I'll... I'll never speak to you again!'

'Ron... don't be mean...' Hermione yawned.

'I just don't want to see you get any sicker,' Ron said. Harry was beginning to feel decidedly left out of the conversation. 'It's scary, seeing you lying here like this.'

'Sorry...' Hermione's eyes drifted closed, then she forced them open and smiled guiltily. 'Sorry... I'm tired.'

Harry touched her hand. 'We'll go then,' he said. 'Ron, come on, break's nearly over, and Hermione needs her sleep.' He stood up and smiled at Hermione, and she smiled back.

'Yeah, I'll be out in a minute,' Ron said.

Harry went to the door, then looked back over his shoulder. The shadows from the single night-light must've confused him, he thought. For a moment it looked as if Ron had leaned over and kissed Hermione on the forehead!


	5. Sneaky Seeker

Saturday afternoon couldn't come fast enough for Harry. He was looking forward to the Quidditch practice match against Ravenclaw, and even Ron set aside his worries for Hermione when Saturday dawned sunny and bright. It was still cold outside, frostily so, but there was no wind and no rain to mar the otherwise perfect weather.

'Wish Hermione could be out here,' was all Ron said as they walked out to the Quidditch pitch. Harry just nodded, then noticed that the Gryffindor team appeared to be one short. Katie was waving her arms at him almost angrily, and with a wave to Ron, Harry ran over to her.

'Dan's sick,' she said.

'Oh no,' Harry said, feeling disappointment sink like a stone to the bottom of his stomach. 'What are we going to do?'

'We'll have to concede the match,' George said bitterly. 'Dan's the only one who knew all the moves we'd practiced. There isn't anyone else who could do it. We could get someone else, but they wouldn't know the signals. It's just lucky that this is only a practice.'

'Wait,' Harry said thoughtfully.

'What?' Katie read the expression on his face and looked excited. 'Have you got an idea?'

Harry grinned. 'Well, there is _one_ person who knows all the moves Danica knew,' he said. 'As a matter of fact, he's quite a big fan of the game... not too bad with a broomstick...'

'You don't mean...' Fred said, instantly catching on.

Harry nodded, then turned towards the stands. 'RON!' he bellowed. 'COME HERE FOR A MINUTE!'

* * *

Five minutes later, the Gryffindor team walked onto the field to the sound of Lee Jordan announcing their names. For the first time Harry could think of, the stands were almost completely quiet as Lee said, 'Weasley, Weasley, and Weasley...'

Ron, beside him, was fidgeting nervously with the hem of the spare set of robes he'd borrowed. 'I hope they don't mind...' he said tensely, just before most of the stadium erupted in loud cheering. Even students from Ravenclaw were applauding, and Harry grinned as Ron's face turned the same colour as his hair. Then the Ravenclaw team were coming out... their team moved to meet them... Katie and Cho Chang shook hands... then Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Harry was hurtling into the sky and the start of his first Quidditch match for the year.

Lee Jordan, after a slightly rusty start, was soon in fine form. 'Quaffle taken immediately by Cho Chang of Ravenclaw... passes it to Jasmine Higgins -- quick young lady, and she's pelting up the pitch... that's a Bludger hit her way by Fred Weasley, I think, and she's dropped the Quaffle... Johnson of Gryffindor takes it, passing quickly to Bell and back to Johnson... they're burning up the field here, but Nicholas Higgins looks like he's going to send that Bludger their way... he does... oh, nice dodge, Angelina! Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor still in possession, and she's going for goal... absolutely merciless look on this girl's face... GRYFFINDOR SCORE!'

A roar went up from the crowd. Harry, circling high above the heads of the others and keeping his eyes wide open, glanced over to the stands and saw that most of the Slytherin students were looking rather sulky.

Angelina zoomed just below him, chasing the Quaffle as Cho passed it to Shane Casey.

'Casey in possession... passes to Miss Higgins, as opposed to Mr Higgins... gets confusing when there's twins on the team...' George Weasley shook a fist mock-angrily at him and Lee ducked, pretending to be wounded. 'Jasmine passes to Cho, who is in position to score... but Ron Weasley, an unexpected addition to the Gryffindor team, is waiting and ready...'

Harry could see that Ron was tensely waiting for Cho to make her move. Down near the Ravenclaw goal Kelsey was circling at about the same height that Harry was, and didn't look like she'd spotted the Snitch at all yet. Harry hadn't seen it either.

Cho was moving back and forth, dodging Bludgers almost carelessly as she looked for the best place. Suddenly she swooped at the nearest hoop, and Harry's gasp was echoed by Lee Jordan's as the commentator leaned forward...

WHAM!

Ron blocked the Quaffle with his body, and Lee yelped excitedly. 'Keeper Weasley blocks that goal VERY nicely... Quaffle taken by Alicia Spinnet, the Ravenclaw team are still reeling from that one... Spinnet off up the field... oh, that must've hurt, she's been hit by a Bludger! Spinnet keeps her grip... headed for the goal... Ravenclaw Keeper Anderson tries to block it... GRYFFINDOR SCORE!'

The crowd roared again, but Harry was suddenly oblivious to it... he was sure he'd just seen the Snitch! Yes, there it was, low down, right in the middle of the field... He tilted his broom into a steep dive and cannoned towards the golden glimmer, but Kelsey had seen it too and was closer...

'Snitch sighting!' Lee was bellowing. 'Seekers Potter and Florence both diving for it... looks like the new Ravenclaw Seeker is going to prove herself, she's miles ahead... that girl can go!... Both Bludgers seem to be targeted on the Seekers... come on, Angelina, score while nobody's looking!'

'Jordan!'

'Sorry, Professor McGonagall... and Florence swoops in, set to take it... oh, she's been hit!'

One of the black Bludgers had hit Kelsey in the side, knocking her off course. Seeing the young girl reel sideways and struggle to regain her balance, Harry felt sorry for her, but the Snitch was right in front of him... He reached for it and felt his fingers close over the fluttering wings. The crowd erupted into applause as Harry clung to the Snitch with one hand and reached out, gripping his broom tightly with his knees, to steady Kelsey's broom.

_Thanks_, Kelsey said. _Thought I was going to fall off there!_

'Are you OK?' Harry asked.

_Fine... except you beat us! _Kelsey pouted at him, then laughed soundlessly. _Come on, let's land_. They did so, and Harry was immediately swamped by the rest of his team, especially Ron.

'Did you see me block the Quaffle?' he kept asking, and Harry nodded his head so often he felt as if it were about to fall off. Kelsey trailed her broom over to her team and Cho Chang gave her a pat on the back.

'Gryffindor win, one hundred and seventy -- nil,' Lee announced to the crowd, 'and for a first match their new Keeper isn't doing too shabbily at all!' He seemed oblivious to Katie's explanation that Ron was only a substitute.

'Ron,' Katie said finally, after Ron had stopped yelling excitedly and was simply grinning around at everyone, 'how'd you like to try out for Keeper at our next team practice?'

'_Would_ I? You bet!' Ron said loudly. He circled his broomstick excitedly as his brothers thumped him on the back. 'Oh, Katie, thanks! Oh, I hope Danica doesn't mind!'

'I think she'll be fine,' Katie said, her own face splitting in a wide grin as Professor McGonagall came down from the stands to congratulate the team. 'I think she'll be happy for you.'

Professor McGonagall joined the team, grinning almost as widely as Katie. 'Well done!' she said to Ron. 'Even for a practice match, keep playing like that and you'll win every match!' She turned to Katie. 'Miss Bell, do you intend to keep Mr Weasley on as Keeper for the year?'

'Well...' Katie faltered. 'I think so. I don't know. I'll have to ask Danica. She's sick at the moment. She's in the hospital wing.'

'Which reminds me,' said Professor McGonagall, 'is Miss Granger all right, Mr Potter? I heard of her misfortune -- I hope she will be back on her feet soon!'

'So does she, Professor,' Harry replied with a grin. 'Madam Pomfrey told us it could be a week or two, though.'

Professor McGonagall tutted. 'I suppose she overworked herself over the holidays,' she said. 'That alone could explain the onset of this illness so early in the year.'

'That's Hermione for you,' Ron said, still glowing with happiness. He caught at Harry's sleeve. 'Harry, d'you think Madam Pomfrey'd mind if we went up there and told 'Mione what happened?'

'Probably,' Harry said, 'but I don't see that stopping you. Let's go.'

* * *

They were almost at the front door of the castle when they heard a familiar nasty voice from behind them.

'Going in to visit your girlfriend, Weasley?'

Ron whirled and Harry had to grab his friend's shoulder -- Ron looked ready to hit Malfoy with the broomstick he still clutched in one hand.

'I'm going in to visit my _friend_, Malfoy,' Ron said tightly. 'Something I don't think you could ever claim to doing, as you don't have any.'

Malfoy laughed and gestured to the path behind him, where Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and a handful of other Slytherins were walking up to join him, all with identical looks of disdain on their faces. 'What do you call this, then?'

'A silly bunch of sheep who're too scared of you to crawl out from under your thumb,' a semi-familiar voice answered him from inside the castle. Kyla Anderson, the Ravenclaw Keeper, was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips. 'Come on inside, Harry -- Kelsey and I want a word.' Without even another glance down at Malfoy's rather shocked countenance, she turned and vanished into the castle, Harry and Ron taking advantage of Malfoy's silence to follow her.

_Hi again Harry. Hi Ron. Where's Hermione?_ Kelsey asked as soon as they met up with her across the entrance hall.

'She's up in the hospital wing,' Ron said. 'D'you want to come up and see her with us?'

_Better not. If she's sick then she'd better rest. What's wrong with her?_

'Glandular fever,' Harry said.

Kyla stifled a snort at this. Harry looked at her quizzically. 'Sorry,' Kyla said, 'just remembering what we call glandular back home... you two better be careful not to catch it...'

'What do _you_ call it?' Harry asked, but Kyla was already towing Kelsey away, ignoring the muttering Slytherins, and heading for the entrance to the Ravenclaw rooms. Harry shrugged his shoulders and followed Ron towards the hospital wing.

* * *

Hermione was awake when they went in, admonished by Madam Pomfrey not to keep her awake if she wanted to rest. She was looking out of the window at the lake and turned to the door when Harry and Ron entered.

'Hi...' Her voice was a husky whisper. 'How was... the match?'

Ron tripped all over his own tongue trying to get the news out that he'd been made Keeper, and Hermione's eyes lit up.

'Congratulations!' This provoked a bout of coughing, and Ron helped her to sit up and take a sip of water.

Harry, meanwhile, had spotted a large medical textbook on the table beside the bed -- evidently Hermione had been reading about her own virus. He opened it to the bookmarked page and went red when he realised what Kyla had been talking about.

One of the slang names for mononucleosis was the 'kissing disease'.

Harry grinned. He'd tell Ron about that one later...

* * *

_Dear Snuffles_, Harry wrote, then paused, setting his quill down on the parchment for a moment. He had to think about how to phrase this. It was difficult to write to his godfather, as Sirius Black was still in hiding. After last year Harry had hoped things would be safer for Sirius, but he had not yet been able to come out of hiding. He was currently living with Remus Lupin, the former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

_Guess what? We've got a new Quidditch Keeper! Ron's over the moon about it -- he played really well for the practice game that we had against Ravenclaw, and he won't stop talking about it!_

_Hermione's sick -- she's got a Muggle virus called mononucleosis, and it makes you really tired and you can hardly move. And her neck's all swollen up. Madam Pomfrey said she'll be in the hospital wing for at least another week! You can imagine Hermione wasn't too happy!_

Harry paused again to think.

_Hope you're doing well. Tell Professor Lupin I said hello and give Beaky a pat for me._

_Love, Harry._

That was it. There wasn't really much more he could say at this stage. It was Saturday evening, Ron was up visiting Hermione again, and the Gryffindor common room was nearly deserted except for himself, Neville, and Ginny.

Neville chose that very moment to slam his book closed in frustration and leave the room through the portrait hole, probably bound for the library. It was no secret that Neville -- and not a few of the others -- were irritated by the amount of homework they were getting.

'We _live_ at Hogwarts,' Seamus had said only the previous morning, 'why do they give us _home_work? Might as well just get it done in class and not bother...'

But the teachers were, for once, all agreed on this topic. Giving the students homework made sure they wouldn't forget what they'd just learnt overnight. And if they had four or five subjects' worth of homework in one night, that was just too bad.

'Harry?'

Harry looked up to see Ginny standing nearby, a rather timid expression on her face. 'Yes, Ginny?' he asked.

'Can you help me with my Transfiguration homework? I know this is last year's work for you, but you might be able to help... I thought I understood what Professor McGonagall was showing us in class, but now I look at it I can't make any sense of it at all.'

And even though Harry had his own homework he should have been doing -- Potions and Divination -- he nodded. Ginny's face lit up and she sank gratefully into the chair beside him. Soon they were absorbed in the notes she had made, not even noticing when Ron came back through the portrait hole, his face still a little pink.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, the Ravenclaw table was a buzz of voices. Only four people, clustered near the end, were anything like quiet. This was because Kelsey was one of them, and was teaching Cho, Kyla and Jasmine to use sign language more.

'I don't see how you can eat this,' Kyla said in mock amazement for only the fourth or fifth time since the start of the year. It had been her morning mantra all the previous year, and Cho hadn't yet got sick of it... somehow. 'I mean, fish, for breakfast?' She gave a disdainful look to the plate of kippers on the table, and dug a small jar out of her robes.

_What's that?_ Kelsey asked, using her wand to speak.

'Don't ask me to say it in sign, but it's Vegemite,' Kyla said.

_What? _Kelsey looked quite confused.

_It's Australian_, Cho said in sign.

_I like it_, Jasmine said in sign. 'Share with me, Kyla,' she added aloud. Kyla spread a piece of toast with Vegemite for Jasmine and passed it over, then turned her attention to her own toast. Cho shook her head.

'I guess this is a good example of the way everyone has their own culture,' she said.

_You bet_, Kelsey said. _In Norway I don't think we'd even think of Vegemite._It didn't seem that the creators of sign language had thought of it either. She had to fingerspell it. _May I try some?_

_Sure_, Kyla said in sign, the only thing she _had_ said this far. She wasn't very good at sign. Kyla spread another piece of toast for Kelsey, passing her the plate and taking a bite out of her own toast, which was gradually going cold. 'I'm going to have to ask Dumbledore if he'll supply this to everyone, soon,' she said with a wink as Kelsey nibbled the edge of the new treat. Her widened eyes showed that she liked it.

_It's sort of hot!_ she said with her wand as she took another bite. _Or is that just because I'm not used to it?_

'I think you're just not used to it,' Kyla said. 'Enjoy.' She let out a long-suffering sigh as she realised her own piece of toast had gone cold, and reached for a new piece.

* * *

Harry thought -- not for the first time -- that the Gryffindor table was strangely different without Hermione there. For starters, there wasn't the risk that you'd spill your pumpkin juice over a book. He mentioned this to Ron, who laughed.

'I suppose you're right... and she _will_ be back soon anyway,' he added.

'What's going on between you and her? You spend all your time up there,' Harry said casually.

Ron's face was a sight to behold. A slow flush crept its way up his neck, turning his cheeks bright pink and finally reaching the tips of his ears, which became dark red. Harry knew immediately that there was something Ron was not telling him.

'Nothing,' Ron said finally. 'I'm just being a good friend... _You're_ hardly ever up there,' he said almost accusingly.

'That's because I can't get in a word edgeways around you and your endless Quidditch talk,' Harry retorted almost before he had realised what he was about to say.

Ron's face was still red, but his expression was now that of anger. '_Me_ and _my_ Quidditch talk! That's rich coming from you, considering you think you're the top Seeker ever!'

'At least I don't think I'm King of the Keepers,' Harry said loudly, not caring -- or indeed realising -- that half a dozen people had turned to stare at them. 'You must've told her -- and everyone else -- about that one stupid block a million times... I'll bet that she pretends to go to sleep just to get rid of you!'

Ron stood up, almost knocking his plate off the table. 'Right... right!' he said. 'If that's the way you're going to talk to me, I'm going to leave!'

'Go and complain to Hermione, then!' Harry shouted, getting to his feet and glaring at Ron. 'But don't blame me when she starts choking just to get you out of the room!'

'At least I _bother_ to go and visit her!' Ron shouted back. 'At least I'm not too busy with _home_work and that garbage to _vis_it a _friend_!' He stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving silence and a furious Harry in his wake.

A hand touched Harry's arm and he jumped, whirling to see Kelsey standing there.

_Don't bite_ my_ head off_, Kelsey said with her wand. _I think you need a walk. Come with me._

Not knowing what else to do -- everyone was staring at him, and Neville looked ready to say something, not the best conditions to finish breakfast under -- Harry followed the young girl from the Hall, through the front hall of the school, and down the steps into the fresh air. Ron was nowhere to be seen, and Harry was glad of the fact.

_Now_, Kelsey said when they were well away from the castle, sitting on a smooth stone near the lake, _tell me what you were arguing about._

'There's not much to tell,' Harry muttered, feeling the tips of _his_ ears going red. 'It was just a stupid argument, that's all.'

_I find that most arguments are stupid. But I am sure it was only a stupid argument which started all the Muggle wars, and I am also sure that there are things in the wizarding world which only began as a silly argument. Don't you think that you should apologise to your friend, if you want him to remain your friend?_ Kelsey asked.

'He started it,' Harry said.

_Oh, really? Are you sure about that?_

Harry thought back to the beginning of his and Ron's conversation. He realised that maybe Ron _had_ said the first angry word... but hadn't it been himself who provoked it? He nodded slowly as Kelsey smiled.

'You're right, you know,' he said thoughtfully. He looked at the Scandinavian, who was now grinning mischievously. 'Did you ever think of a career in politics?'

_No way. I'm going to be a dragon breeder. _She gave him another cheeky grin. _And play Seeker for the Karasjok Kites in my spare time!_

'You could do it, too,' Harry said. 'If that Bludger hadn't hit you, you would've won the match yesterday.'

Kelsey nodded. _I was distracted_.

'By what?' Harry asked.

_Someone. It doesn't matter._

Harry thought of something else he'd meant to ask. 'When you took us into that memory, were your parents really speaking English? I mean, I was _hearing_ English, but it didn't seem right, somehow, their lips weren't moving with the words.'

No, they don't. Well, they do, but they weren't then. We were all speaking _Bokmål, which is one of two main forms of the Norwegian language. The other is Nynorsk. I was translating it in my head, which meant you heard it in your own language. My father does know many languages, though, including English... but you'll find that out in time..._

'What?' Harry asked. 'What do you mean?'

Kelsey tucked her wand back into her sleeve, waved, and hurried up the path towards the castle. Harry, shaking his head slightly, stood up and walked the same way.

* * *

Ron was, predictably, sitting beside Hermione's bed in the hospital wing when Harry got there a few minutes later. When he saw who had entered the room his face turned stony.

'Hi, Hermione,' Harry said. 'Hi, Ron.' He swallowed, but at least Ron was still looking at him. 'Er... I wanted to say sorry for what I said at breakfast.'

Ron's sullen expression crumbled and his usual sunny smile broke through. ''S okay, Harry -- I was going to come and apologise myself.'

'You two... fighting again?' Hermione asked. 'Silly...'

'Don't _talk_, Hermione. You know Madam Pomfrey said it was a bad idea,' Ron said. He looked at Harry with a long-suffering sigh. 'She came in here to give me a lecture when I first got here, and when Kelsey came in you should've seen the look on her face... but I think the staff are being 'specially nice to Kelsey, so she let her in.'

Harry was a little puzzled. 'Kelsey came up here?'

Both Ron and Hermione nodded. 'She visited,' Hermione said. 'Yelled... at Ron.' A frown creased her brow. 'What were... you two fighting about?'

'Nothing,' said Harry. 'Ron, Kelsey yelled at you too? What about?' He didn't wait for Ron to reply. 'It was about us two arguing, wasn't it? She gave me a lecture as well!'

Ron laughed. 'Guess she really doesn't like fighting...' He grinned. 'She's sneaky, though... if she was talking to you one minute, then came up here. You didn't pass her on your way in?'

'No, but there're a few corridors she might've taken. No wonder she's such a brilliant Seeker! She can do it in her mind as well as on a broom!' Harry said.


	6. Feline Friendship

For the next week after that first Quidditch match, Harry and Ron had hardly any time to think of the sport: they were far too busy settling into the routine of changing classes, going from room to room, and ignoring Professor Trelawney's daily predictions of death for Harry.

Another distraction was Kelsey. She was keeping a secret from everyone, and went around all week with an elusive smile on her face. It made people wonder just what she was up to, although nobody who asked her ever got an answer.

'This is absolutely stupid,' Ron said on Friday morning. He tapped his timetable, which was besmirched with ink and what looked like custard. 'This is so confusing. I can hardly read it half the time.'

'The only reason you can't read that is because of all the muck on it,' Harry yawned through a mouthful of pumpkin juice. 'You'll have to write it out on a clean bit of parchment soon.'

'Oh, probably,' Ron said. 'Never mind.'

Over at the Ravenclaw table, Kyla and Cho were assiduously trying to get Kelsey's secret out of her, but the Scandinavian wasn't talking. She kept her wand in her pocket and her hands on her knife and fork, and refused to answer any questions, all the while with a sneaky twinkle in her blue eyes.

* * *

The Gryffindors' first class of the day was Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid looked strangely excited about something, but when Harry asked him about it he refused to answer.

'Hey, look!' Ron said, looking back up the path to the castle. They were waiting outside Hagrid's hut for everyone to arrive, and Ron pointed to one of the late arrivals. Harry looked over.

Walking down the path, rather pale, but with determination in her step and her ubiquitous bag of books slung over her shoulder, came Hermione.

'Hermione!' Ron said when she reached them. 'You're OK?'

'Pretty much,' Hermione said. The painful swelling on the sides of her throat had gone down, and she was now able to talk properly. 'I know Madam Pomfrey said it would be longer when you asked yesterday, but she seems to think I'll manage. I just have to be careful not to overwork myself.'

Harry grinned. 'We'll help you out there,' he promised. 'We'll make sure you take a break every two minutes from working... oh, and no homework, you're only allowed to play chess or cards or something...' He was prevented from saying anything more as Hermione started making threatening gestures with her wand.

'Oh, _no_,' Ron said suddenly. Harry and Hermione looked where he was looking. Professor Snape was walking briskly down the path, the early morning sunlight gleaming off his hair. Beside him came Kelsey, who looked like his exact opposite: where he had dark hair and a scowl on his face, she was blonde and grinning cheerfully. 'What's _he_ want?'

'Ah, Professor Snape,' Hagrid said. 'Good ter see yeh... this lot've bin askin' questions non-stop...'

Snape nodded curtly and turned to Kelsey. 'Miss Florence, when the students are ready, perhaps you will be good enough to explain what is going on?'

_Sure_. Kelsey looked around as Hagrid let out an ear-piercing whistle, which got everyone's attention fairly quickly. They grouped together around Hagrid, and Kelsey stood in front of the group with her wand raised. When everyone was silent, even Malfoy, she began to 'speak', and the words came out of her wand like a ribbon, forming into neat lines in the air. Harry suddenly recalled where it was he'd seen something like this before -- at the beginning of the year, when Dumbledore sent out the words of the school song. Harry realised Kelsey was still writing, and hastily began to read.

_As some of you know, my parents are dragon breeders._

'No kidding,' Malfoy said.

_As dragons are Magical Creatures, and dragon's blood and whiskers are also used in many potions, Professor Snape and Hagrid are going to take all the Hogwarts fifth-years on a combined excursion to my parents' dragon farm in Norway._

A cheer went up, even from the Slytherins. This was something far more exciting than working with toads.

_The idea will be to learn, not just play around. Professor Snape tells me he plans to devote part of your Potions O.W.L. to the uses of dragon's blood._

'Gee, _really_?' Ron whispered sarcastically to Harry.

_This is going to take a lot of cooperation between the classes -- as this year is O.W.L. year and is also a Scandinavian Blue breeding year, you won't be able to go until near the end of the school year, most likely some time in March._

Several people groaned.

_But we're telling you about it now so that you will be prepared. This is a very special occasion, and if we do the right thing this may become an annual excursion for Hogwarts fifth-years. __I'll be coming with you to see my parents and to help with the tours__. _Kelsey bowed slightly and the whole group applauded, even Malfoy and his cronies, who, since the incident in Potions some time back, had been quite wary of the Scandinavian.

'Thank you, Miss Florence.' Snape looked around at the assembled Gryffindors and Slytherins. 'The last thing we need to mention is that part of the reason for having this excursion at the end of the year is so that we can monitor your behaviour leading up to it. If you misbehave, you will be staying here.' Without a final word to Hagrid, or even allowing Kelsey to say goodbye, he turned the small girl with a hand on her shoulder and they disappeared up the path to the castle.

'Snape _would_ tell us about this early,' Ron said a little gloomily as Hagrid started talking loudly about frogs. 'He just wants us to get all excited and stuff something up so that we can't go _anywhere_.'

'Oh, Ron, don't be silly,' Hermione said. She looked excited: Harry groaned, knowing instinctively what she was going to say next. 'I think next session I'll go to...'

'... the library,' Ron and Harry finished in unison. Hermione went red, but nodded.

'And you two should come with me. Dragons are fascinating. There's a lot we could learn about them.' Hermione gave them a stern look.

'Couldn't this wait until a bit closer to the excursion? Like February, for example?' Ron asked, stifling a groan. 'Besides, you're not supposed to overwork yourself, remember?'

'I don't think that's going to stop her...' Harry said forebodingly.

* * *

The library was under the care of Madam Pince, a witch whose eagle eye could spot a troublemaker at ten yards and who knew the location of every book in her domain. When Hermione asked her about books on dragons, she nodded.

'Professor Snape and Hagrid have both been in already and have asked me to prepare a box of books on the subject, relating specifically to Potions and Care of Magical Creatures,' she said. She ushered them to a table and brought out the box, setting it down carefully.

'Thank you,' Hermione said.

'These are only the books on Potions,' Madam Pince said suddenly, looking at the label on the side. She tsk'ed. 'My assistant seems to be taking her time collating the Care of Magical Creatures books. Miss Granger, you know where they are, perhaps you could go and see what Shenea is getting up to?'

'Yes, Madam Pince,' Hermione said. She stood up. 'Come on, you two, Shenea might need some help lifting those books.' She towed the other two behind her to the aisle of books lining the nearest wall, Madam Pince hovering protectively over the box of books they had left behind.

'Who's Shenea?' Harry asked. 'I've never heard of her before.'

Hermione raised an eyebrow mysteriously. 'Oh, I'm sure she'll want to tell you all about herself,' she said. 'You'll get to meet her in a moment.'

The aisle turned a sharp right angle, then ended abruptly in a wider space, around which were scattered a few chairs and a table. Dust motes danced in the light of a sunbeam which was streaming through the slit window, and the sense that the shelves full of ancient tomes were looming over them seemed to dissipate in the light of the cheery corner.

Parked strategically in the centre of the space -- and in the centre of the warm sunlight -- was a library cart stacked with books, from dusty old volumes to new-looking paperbacks. Sunlight reflected off the covers of some of these latter, and the trio shielded their eyes. Only then could they see exactly what Madam Pince's assistant was getting up to.

Napping in the sunlight, stretched out luxuriously atop the cart, was a Burmese cat.

'Shenea, wake up,' Hermione said a little crossly. 'Madam Pince is waiting for you, and so are we.'

The cat opened her eyes. They were a brilliant shade of green, almost the same colour as Harry's own. She stretched and yawned, the sunlight catching the gold strands in her brown fur and sparkling. It also sparkled off her pointed white fangs, making her look rather as if she was laughing. Harry grinned. This _was_ Hogwarts after all. He could hardly expect the library assistant to be normal.

'Hello, Hermione,' Shenea said. 'Are these books for you?' She caught sight of the other two. 'Well, if it isn't Harry Potter! And this other one must be that Ron bloke you keep talking about.'

'Yes, those books are for us,' Hermione said, blushing a little. 'Harry, Ron, meet Shenea. She's Madam Pince's assistant, and if you give her half a chance she'll keep you here for half an hour telling you her story.'

'Too right,' said Shenea. Harry was absurdly reminded of Moaning Myrtle, the ghost who haunted the girls' toilets on the third floor. Myrtle would go on for hours about how she died, given the opportunity. 'D'you want to hear it?'

'Come to our table with us,' offered Harry. 'We can do this reading and listen at the same time.'

Shenea leapt deftly off the cart, picking up her wand from the lower shelf. Her claws curved around it, she pointed it at the cart and said '_Sequax!_' She dropped the wand back in the cart and, tail raised proudly, sauntered back to the centre of the library. The cart trundled along behind her, and Harry, Ron and Hermione followed it.

'I've got the books, Madam Pince,' Shenea said when they reached the table. '_Desino!_' she added to the cart, which stopped beside the table.

Madam Pince folded her arms and looked down sternly at the feline. 'You certainly took your time,' she sniffed. 'Stay here and help these children find what they're looking for.' She marched off across to the other side of the library, where a group of Hufflepuffs had just upset one of the periodical racks.

Shenea jumped up onto the table and waved her wand at the stack of books, which lifted out of the cart and stacked themselves neatly on the table. She started sorting through them with a paw, having a little difficulty with some of the thicker tomes. Hermione helped her, and soon the books were sorted by author in the box beside the Potions books.

'Now, you were going to tell us about yourself?' Ron asked, picking out a book so it at least _looked_ like he was doing something useful. Hermione, who had already heard this story, was assiduously taking notes out of a book that looked like it weighed about a hundred pounds.

Shenea curled her tail around her paws and looked important. 'Well, the first thing you really need to know is my real name...'

* * *

_Sara Slytherin was a natural to be Sorted into Slytherin. Her name was the main point the Hat focused on, and the first-year was sent to the Slytherin table just as the boy she'd met on the train, Rafael Montague, had been sent to. Rafael was the Draco Malfoy of Sara's day._

_The two, although allocated to the same House, weren't particularly close. Rafael had his own especial coterie, and Sara was friends with a certain group of Gryffindor students. They kept this friendship under wraps, however -- even in that time the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor was bitter, especially between Rafael Montague and his group and the group of Gryffindor boys who styled themselves the 'Marauders'._

_Sara's potential to become an Animagus became apparent in her sixth year. Professor McGonagall, of course, was unaware of the Marauders' transfiguration capabilities, but Sara was well aware of them -- hadn't she been there time and time again when Moony's time came around and he, Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs slipped out of the castle to the Shrieking Shack? She diligently persuaded Professor McGonagall to allow her to move on from the little bit of human Transfiguration they learned in class, to learn the ways of the Animagi. She never gave away the Marauders' secret, not even when she could finally become a cat and join them at their nighttime exploits._

_Sara disdained the Marauders' attempts to give her a nickname -- somehow 'Furball' didn't quite suit the sleek brown Burmese she could become at will. She took on the name 'Shenea', and used it exclusively as a nickname with her friends._

_But in her final year at Hogwarts, tragedy struck for the young Animagus. Rafael Montague, who a short time later was to be revealed as a Death Eater, found out about her friendship with the Marauders, especially Sirius, who harboured a special affection for the shapeshifting Slytherin. The Marauders had dogged (literally, in Sirius's case) his footsteps at every opportunity, and he thought of revenge. Just before the school year ended, Rafael struck._

* * *

Shenea hissed angrily. 'He caught me sneaking out of my room to go and meet the others,' she said. 'I was in this form, of course -- the feline form is so much better for sneaky activities! But I wasn't planning on staying in it forever!' She took a deep breath. 'He had learned a spell somehow, a spell he said was irreversible except by him, to trap me in my cat body. He didn't hesitate to use it right then and there, either.'

'Didn't you tell anyone it was him?'

'Of course I did! But that wasn't until three months later, when Dumbledore had found a way to restore my voice, and by then Rafael was long gone. He's a great man, Dumbledore. I didn't like his mistakes much, though -- I mean, have you ever seen a cat with blue fur before?' She shuddered at the memory. 'Between Dumbledore -- and some of the others, I think -- my voice was restored. But I didn't have anywhere to go. I was the black sheep of my family anyway, and they didn't want a cat for a daughter. So Madam Pince offered me the job here, and I've been here ever since.' She gave them a feline smile. 'It's not too bad, really.'

'I'm sorry to hear that Rafael did that,' Harry said. 'But Shenea, you said that Dumbledore restored your voice. Couldn't he do it for Kelsey as well?'

Shenea shook her head, ears twitching. 'No. I happen to know that that was one of the first things that was tried for her. But the potion that he cooked up only works on wizards trapped as animals, and since I'm currently the only one...' She shrugged. It looked _very_ strange.

'I don't think I could ever take a potion someone made for me that might not be right,' Ron said, shuddering.

'I had to take about twelve before they found the right one. One a week, or something. It _was_ pretty horrible,' Shenea admitted. 'But at least I can talk again.'

'Obviously,' said Hermione from the depths of her book.

'Are you mad about what Rafael did?' Harry asked.

Shenea hissed. 'Is Quidditch a popular sport? You bet I am! And it's all because of the Dark Lord! I found out Rafael was _lauded_ by him for doing it! If I ever find that git who calls himself Voldemort I'll claw his eyes out -- and that's just for starters!'

'You and everyone else,' Ron muttered.

'So... you gave up your Slytherin name when you got trapped. How are you related to Salazar?' Harry asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

'Oh, great-great-great-granddaughter or something,' Shenea said offhandedly. 'There might be a few more 'greats' in there, I'm not sure. I was disowned by the family, anyway. I wasn't horrible enough. So of course I gave up my name -- can you imagine if everyone knew? I only tell people I think I can trust, and you three seem like a likely lot. But really, I'd be stoned out of the school if everyone knew.'

'Why?' asked Ron.

'Why? Tell me what the first thing you think of is when you hear the name "Slytherin",' Shenea invited.

A host of images immediately flooded Harry's mind -- the great statue in the Chamber of Secrets; Malfoy's sneering face; the slithering Basilisk; Snape's ugly smirk; the Slytherin table ranged with its group of unfriendly students -- and then he realised Shenea was looking at him expectantly.

'Well,' he said slowly, 'it's nothing all that good, really...'

Shenea gave him a small smile. 'And I'm grateful to you for admitting it,' she said. 'I'm the antithesis of all things Slytherin. I chummed with Gryffindors. I didn't make fun of people for no reason. Not even Snape thought I was any good as a Slytherin. So one night, when I was waiting in Dumbledore's office for him to bring out his latest potion, I climbed up on the shelf and put the Sorting Hat on.'

Ron giggled, imagining the tatty Sorting Hat -- it would have covered the cat completely. Shenea glanced at him amusedly, then continued.

'It remembered me, of course -- it always does.

'"Ah, Miss Slytherin," it said. "I suppose you're wondering if you've been in the right place for the past seven years."'

Harry jumped -- this was very like what the Hat had said to him in his own moment of doubt. Shenea gave him a superior look.

'"Yes," I thought to it, wondering what was going on. "I am."

'"Well," it said, "you're Salazar's relative. Did you expect anything less than Slytherin?"

'"No," I thought. "I think I expected something more." And I took the Hat off and got down off the shelf. Dumbledore came in then, and though he didn't ask me, I know he knew what I'd done.'

'Wow,' said Ron, eyes round. 'So you're saying Gryffindor's better than Slytherin?'

The others just laughed.

* * *

After hearing Shenea's story, Harry was plagued by a swarm of niggling thoughts which refused to go away. He wished he had a Pensieve like Dumbledore's -- if he could sort these thoughts logically, he'd feel so much better! But there was no getting rid of them. They buzzed in his head like a swarm of angry bees.

Something about the connection between Kelsey and Shenea was trying to get his attention. How they were both hit by spells that only the caster could reverse... and something about the name of Shenea's tormentor was bothering him.

It wasn't until he was crawling into bed that night that it struck him... Montague was the surname of one of the Slytherin Chasers! Were they related? He'd have to find out.

'Harry?' he heard Ron call softly. The other three were already asleep, Neville snoring loudly. 'You awake?'

Harry rolled over and pushed back the curtain around his bed, pulling out his wand and muttering '_Lumos!_.' The cheery little light sufficiently lit up the space between his bed and Ron's.

'Yeah, what's up?' he asked, stifling a yawn.

'D'you think there's any connection between what happened to Sara -- Shenea, I mean -- and what happened to Kelsey?'

'I was just thinking about it. Did you realise that there's a Montague on the Slytherin Quidditch team?' Harry asked.

'Yeah. I bet he's related to this Rafael person. What's his first name?' Ron said.

'Er....' Harry tried to remember. 'Alonzo. Alonzo Montague,' he said finally.

Dean rolled over in his sleep, grunting lightly, and Seamus called out something about 'fish!' before silence settled over the Gryffindor dormitory again. Harry was biting his lip, trying to keep back a loud snort of laughter. He could see Ron doing the same.

'Alonzo and Rafael both sound sort of the same... French, or something. We could ask Hermione tomorrow,' Ron said eventually.

'Yeah... or just ask Montague. If we can get any lead on where Rafael is, we could tell Shenea. She'd be really grateful,' Harry said. 'I know I would be, if I was like her. Imagine being trapped as an animal forever... it'd be horrible!' he finished with a shudder.

'What about Siri- Snuffles?' Ron asked. 'He's got to spend most of his time as Snuffles. I bet he gets pretty sick of it sometimes.'

'Yeah.' Both boys were quiet for a little while. Harry sighed. His wand hand was getting tired. 'I guess so.'

'Well... goodnight,' Ron said. 'Maybe this will make more sense in the morning. It's really bugging me.'

'Me too. Goodnight.' Harry muttered '_Nox!_' and the light went out. He stuffed his wand under his pillow and pulled the curtain back, hearing the rattle of rings as Ron's curtain also closed. He rolled over and stared up at the darkness above him, still thinking about Kelsey and Shenea, and never quite knew the moment when he slipped from wakefulness into dreamland. His dreams seemed very real that night, possibly memories retained in the magical atmosphere surrounding Hogwarts, stealing into his head.

* * *

_'Sirius, I want to go with you tonight!' An indignant Sara stood before Sirius, hands on hips. 'You said you'd let me come out with you, now I'm an Animagus!'_

_'Shenea, it's too dangerous. We're going all the way down to the Herbology greenhouses to get the stuff for this potion, and between Filch and Lily we're going to have enough trouble as it is. You can't come,' Sirius said._

_'Lily? What's Lily got to do with anything?' Sara asked._

_'James is trying to talk _her _out of coming, too,' Sirius said. He sighed softly. 'Hope he's having more luck than I am...'_

_'But Lily's not an Animagus, and I am!' Sara said. 'I can be sneaky like you... better than any of you!'_

_Sirius reached out and took her hand, patting the back of it soothingly. 'Now, Shenea, calm down,' he said, but Sara was worked up now. It was just lucky that they were down by the lake, where nobody could hear them (unless the giant squid was eavesdropping)._

_'I'm not gonna calm down until you say I can come!'_

_'Alright, alright! You can come! We'll meet you at the dungeon entrance at midnight!' Sirius shook his head in mock despair. 'Really, Shenea, I don't know why I let you get away with so much!'_

_'It's 'cos I'm so wonderful,' Sara explained. Her eyes narrowed. 'Now, you promise_ _ you'll wait for me?'_

_'I promise!'_

_'Good,' Sara practically purred. She smiled, self-satisfied, and Sirius reflected that when Sara had become a cat Animagus, she'd retained a lot_ _ of the feline's characteristics. 'Let's go inside... we'll be late for dinner.'_

_The duo set off up the path, Sara's hand still clasped inside Sirius's._

* * *

Harry woke up laughing from his dream. Seemed like Shenea hadn't changed...

* * *

At breakfast there was the usual flurry of wings as the post owls entered the Hall, and Harry was surprised when one of them, an unfamiliar brown owl, dropped a letter at his place.

'Hello!' said Ron. 'What's that?'

Harry ripped the envelope open eagerly, recognising a certain dirty pawmark on the front of it. Sure enough, the letter inside was in Sirius' familiar handwriting.

_Dear Harry (and friends),_

_I hope you're all well. I'm sorry I haven't written sooner -- I've been on the move a bit. You know I was staying with Remus, well, a few days ago a couple of people from the Ministry of Magic came poking around. I still don't know who tipped them off. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Anyway, I'm back there now, after a few days moving around to keep them off the scent._

_Tell Hermione I got her letter and I hope you all have fun in Norway -- but don't get too excited yet! You still have a long time to go until March! Although, knowing Hermione, you'll be in the library from now until then reading up on dragons!_

_I heard that you have a new teacher for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Is she a good teacher? I hear that she's very good at what she does. Remus is getting jealous! Oh, he says hello to you all, and so does Beaky._

_I hope you are enjoying your school year, and are all working hard,_

_Snuffles._

Harry told Hermione and Ron what the letter said. Hermione looked rather miffed.

'_Really_!' she said. 'I don't spend _all_ my time in the library!'

'Bet you would if you could,' said Ron.

Hermione hit him.


	7. Dramatic Defences

The next month or so passed with no surprise announcements, invasions by Dark witches or wizards, or even explosions in the Potions dungeon. The only nasty incident occurred when Hermione, practicing a beginners' Human Transfiguration spell, muffed it and ended up with orange fur on the backs of her hands for a week. 'I knew I shouldn't have started this so early!' Professor McGonagall tutted, sending her up to the hospital wing.

The first real Quidditch match was early in November, and the whole school turned out for it, because it was between Gryffindor and Slytherin and those matches were always exciting.

'Welcome, everyone, to the first official Hogwarts Quidditch match of the season, Slytherin versus Gryffindor!' Lee Jordan announced. There was, of course, a delighted roar from the crowd at this, and Lee had to shout 'Shut UP!' several times before he could get anyone's attention. Finally Professor McGonagall leaned over and cleared her throat loudly into the megaphone. That silenced everyone, and McGonagall sat back down with a look of satisfaction on her face.

'First we welcome to the field the Slytherin team! Castell, Montague, Warrington, Henson, Mathers, Ritter, and Malfoy!' The Slytherins cheered raucously; Harry, clustered with the others on the sidelines, saw Pansy Parkinson start a Mexican wave. To his astonishment (and amusement), even Snape joined in, albeit rather reluctantly. He tried to tell Ron, but Ron was too busy looking green and directing evil glares out at Malfoy to care.

'And now, the Gryffindor team! Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley times three, and Potter!' The cheering that went up at this was even louder, as the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs generally barracked for the Gryffindors -- anyone who wasn't Slytherin.

Madam Hooch, already hovering a few feet off the ground, gathered them into a loose circle in the centre of the field. 'Mount your brooms!' she ordered. Fourteen pairs of feet left the ground; fourteen sets of robes swished in the air; fourteen brooms jiggled excitedly, waiting for the match to begin. Madam Hooch bent down and released the Quaffle, then the two Bludgers, and finally the Golden Snitch, and quickly flew backward out of the way, blowing her whistle for the match to begin.

The Snitch was fast: Harry and Malfoy both dove at it as soon as the whistle was blown, but it did a tricky mid-air flip and veered off in a different direction. By the time the pair had each pulled out of their dives, it was gone. Harry immediately flew up to be above the heads of the others, a position where he could see the whole pitch and keep an eye on Malfoy.

Angelina whizzed past him with the Quaffle, Warrington in close pursuit. The heavyset Slytherin Chaser was leaning precariously forward on his broom, reaching out... Lee Jordan shrieked in indignation as the Slytherin grabbed the tail of Angelina's broom and shook it hard. Angelina was almost thrown off, but managed to stay on and threw the Quaffle to Alicia, who was already turning in anticipation of a penalty to be awarded.

'Penalty to Gryffindor! Warrington, the rules clearly state 'No blagging', and if I catch you doing it again you will be disqualified!' Madam Hooch yelled. 'Spinnet, take that penalty shot!'

'Spinnet going for goal...' Lee said. 'And... yes! Lovely! She's scored, so Gryffindor lead, ten-zero! Quaffle goes to Katie Bell of Gryffindor and she's circling... oh Katie, watch out!'

Butch Mathers, one of the Slytherin Beaters, had aimed a Bludger extremely accurately at Katie's broom, hitting it square on the bristles. Katie spun like a top for a full minute and was able to stop only when Fred grabbed the tail of her broom , nearly knocking himself off his own broom in the process.

'Interesting Bludger tactic by the Slytherin Beater,' Lee noted. 'Katie's lost the Quaffle... ah... Montague of Slytherin has the Quaffle and is tearing up the pitch toward the Slytherin goal... Ron Weasley's up there for his first official match, and let's hope he performs as well as in his practice matches...'

'You're supposed to be unbiased, Jordan,' Professor McGonagall reminded him.

'Sorry, Professor... Montague passes to Castell, who passes to Warrington... back to Castell... he's going for goal... Weasley blocks it!'

A thunderous roar went up from the crowd; Ron had gone red to match his hair. Harry saw Hagrid sitting with Professors Flitwick and Firenze, all three of them applauding loudly. Snape was scowling like nothing else, and Harry hoped this wouldn't mean trouble in their next Potions lesson.

Meanwhile, the Quaffle had gone back into play, and Harry reflexively dodged as Katie zipped past him, followed by a Bludger that Dale Henson, the other Slytherin Beater, had just hit. They were followed by most of the rest of the two teams, and Harry rose up even higher to avoid being caught in a mid-air stampede. It was starting to rain, and Harry pulled his glasses off, wiped the water from them, and put them back on.

And that was when he spotted it.

The Snitch was almost lazily rising and falling down near the Slytherin goalposts. Malfoy was about the same distance from it as he was, but was facing the other way and was down below the others, watching as his Keeper, Jackson Ritter, failed to keep Alicia from scoring again. They would be coming back any second now... he had to get down there before Malfoy noticed...

Suddenly there was a flurry of screaming from the Slytherin end. Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini were hanging over the railing, shrieking their heads off and waving green and silver pompoms. They were clearly trying to attract Malfoy's attention, and though it might be for innocent enough reasons, if Malfoy looked that way he would be sure to see the Snitch, which was now doing cheeky loops around Ron's head. Ron was batting at it, but trying not to touch it -- this would incur another foul, this time against them. The rain was falling faster now, and Harry had to squint to keep his eye on the Snitch.

'Snitch sighting!' Lee Jordan howled deliriously, seeing Harry, who had made up his mind, accelerate towards the goals. Pansy and Blaise had been joined by Millicent Bulstrode and two other Slytherin girls Harry didn't know, and all five of them were screaming at Malfoy.

'Come on Harry, he's right on your tail!' Lee called. Harry glanced back for a moment, and Malfoy _was_ right there, leaning forward on his broomstick with a grim look on his face. His lips were moving, but it wasn't a spell -- Harry lip-read the words 'come _on!_' and grinned to himself. Malfoy would try anything.

But Malfoy's Nimbus Two Thousand and One, though it was certainly top of its particular range, couldn't outdo Harry's Firebolt. Faster... faster... his hair blew back in the wind of his speed and he saw the Snitch getting closer and closer... it looked like it knew he was coming and had left the scoring circle, but he could still see it as it headed left, towards the Gryffindor stands... Ron was yelling his name as Harry sped past... he stretched out his hand and leaned sideways, eyes half-closed against the wind... then the tiny wings were fluttering against his palm and the smooth cool curve of the Snitch was tightly clutched in his hand.

'I've got it!' he yelled, raising his hand high. Ron pelted over and hugged him, nearly dragging them both off their brooms. Madam Hooch joined them and took the Snitch from him, then signalled to Lee, up in the commentator's box with Professor McGonagall.

'Gryffindor win, one hundred and sixty to zero!' That was all Harry heard before he was swamped by his cheering teammates and borne (slowly, thankfully) to the ground. They landed rather squishily -- the rain had turned the ground to mud.

'Well done, Harry!' Fred and George yelled in unison.

'This one was easy... Malfoy wasn't even looking...' Harry said, a bit breathless. 'Ron, d'you think you could _possibly_ get off my chest?'

'Sorry,' Ron said, and he scrambled up, helping the others to their feet.

Angelina's dark face was red with anger, and she glared across the pitch towards the Slytherins, who were landing in the middle, rather shamefaced. It looked as if Malfoy was being yelled at by most of them. His face was hard to see through the rain, but it looked as if he was embarrassed.

'That slimy little git,' she hissed. 'That rat Warrington... I'm going over there to give him a piece of my mind.' She dropped her broom, pulled her wand out of her pocket, and actually took two steps before Fred grabbed her arm.

'Don't waste your time,' he said. 'People like that aren't worth it. Now come on... I see a few people who want to congratulate us... and you don't want to miss out on the team feast because you've been put in detention for turning Warrington into a toad, do you?'

'He's _already_ a toad,' Angelina muttered, but she allowed herself to be calmed down. Swarms of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were coming down onto the pitch to congratulate the winners (and not a few to laugh at the losers), and there was no time for petty recriminations.

_Well done, you guys!_ Kelsey's exuberant wand-writing flickered over their heads as she shook hands and hugged the Gryffindors all round. Harry noticed that her hands were a little callused -- probably from working with dragons, handling their scaly hides. Kelsey hopped on her broomstick and flew above everyone's heads, showering confetti from her wand until Madam Hooch stopped her.

It was an _excellent_ match.

* * *

The after-Quidditch feast for the Gryffindors was held in their common room. Natalie McDonald and Dennis Creevey were keeping most of the room in fits of laughter. Natalie had brought something she called 'Ooblek' with her from home in a small plastic container, and it was currently oozing its way around the room, leaving a slimy pink trail behind it. Dennis was covered in goo, and the two of them were frantically trying to stop the Ooblek and get it back into its box.

'I didn't think it would do _this_ when I charmed it,' Natalie moaned, shaking her head and scraping another layer of pink guck off Dennis' arm. 'Sorry, Denny.'

'Can we borrow that, Nat?' Fred Weasley asked. 'I can just imagine it in Potions...' He screwed up his face and imitated Snape. 'What's this in your cauldron, Mr Weasley?' Poke with the wand. 'Aaargh!' Everyone laughed as the thunder rolled outside. The first storm of the season had begun in earnest just after the Quidditch match.

'It's _pink_,' George said. 'I don't think we've ever made a _pink_ potion before.'

'Neville has,' Dean Thomas said. 'But I don't think he meant to.' Neville went pink and threw a lump of Ooblek at him. Dean caught it and threw it back, but missed and hit Hermione in the ear. She yelped with indignation and scooped up a handful of the slimy stuff from Dennis' shoulder, forming it into a rough ball and hurling it at Dean, who ducked...

Harry stood on the sidelines (actually, he hid under a table), and watched. The pink clashed horribly with the Weasleys' hair. Even Ginny, who was trying to be a responsible fourth-year, was joining in the fight, and as for Hermione, who was a Prefect (though she hadn't made much mention of it so far), she was balling up the Ooblek and throwing it as fast as she could get her hands on it. She looked like she was well over her sickness, though... Harry grinned.

BOOM!

Everyone in the room jumped. A couple of first-year girls screamed. But these things were vague background information for Harry, who clapped his hands to his forehead. His scar... it felt almost the way that it did when Voldemort was around... not quite as bad, but still...

'Harry? Harry!'

Harry scrambled out from underneath the table and was instantly set upon by a hysterical Ginny. It took several seconds for him to assure her that he was fine. Then a loud gasp from near the fire caught their attention and they both turned to see what was going on.

'_Look_...' Parvati Patil was kneeling beside the fire, transfixed by something in it. Writing... white writing appearing in the red flames...

_Beware, Hogwarts, of the fire from above  
The Seeker will lose the thing she loves  
When the lightning next strikes  
The Dark Lord's minions make no mistakes._

'Oh...' Several people groaned.

'The Seeker will lose the thing _she_ loves... there's only one female Seeker at this school, and that's Kelsey,' Harry said slowly.

The door to the common room burst open, and Professor McGonagall dashed in, hair wringing wet, eyes ablaze. 'Is everyone all right?' she demanded.

'We're fine, Professor,' Hermione said, 'but somebody seems to be threatening Kelsey...' She pointed to the words in the fire.

McGonagall gasped and seemed frozen for a moment, then dug a hand into her robes and pulled out a vial of powder from a hidden pocket. She threw a pinch of the powder into the fire and called, 'Felix!' She was clearly rather shaken.

Seconds later, Professor Flitwick's head appeared in the fire. 'What's wrong, Minerva?' he asked. He looked rather worried himself. 'I've got half a dozen panicking first-years...' The Gryffindors could hear the sound of them. Shrieking. Quite loudly, actually. Most of the Gryffindors themselves, however, were now giggling.

'They're threatening Kelsey again,' McGonagall said rather shortly. 'Find her, keep her with you, and don't let her out of your sight until I--' The last part of her sentence was cut off as there was a loud rumble of thunder.

'The lightning must've gone just before that,' Hermione said.

'Oooh, and it said 'When the lightning next strikes'...' Lavender Brown was bouncing on her toes. 'Maybe it's too late!'

'All right, all of you, bedtime,' McGonagall said. It was only nine o'clock, but nobody had any objections -- a nice, safe, warm bed seemed like the best place to be right at that moment. 'And I don't want to see or hear about any of you getting up and trying to get into the Ravenclaw common room,' she added, seeming to look straight at Hermione, Ron and Harry. Then she turned and left the room, hurrying.

'Is she coming?' Flitwick's voice from the fireplace seemed oddly plaintive.

'She is,' Hermione said, and Flitwick's head disappeared with a pop.

'Felix Flitwick,' Dennis said, still giggling.

'It's too perfect,' Natalie agreed.

'We'd better get up to bed, come on...' Hermione started herding the first-year girls up the stairs, remembering her role as Prefect.

'She's right. Nat, Denny, clean this mess up,' Seamus said.

Natalie groaned. 'Who died and made _you_ God?'

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Harry was rather amused to see Kelsey sitting at the Ravenclaw table with Cho, Kyla, Jasmine and Professor Flitwick clustered around her. A passing Hufflepuff told him that nothing had happened to Kelsey yet.

'It must be awful for her,' Hermione said, absently stirring her cornflakes with her wand instead of her spoon and turning the milk blue. 'Whoops. But imagine, everyone in the Hall is staring at her...'

'Been there. Done that,' Harry said.

Hermione went as pink as Natalie's Ooblek. 'Oh, I'm sorry Harry,' she said. 'But _look_ at them, honestly, they're vultures...'

Harry looked around. Sure enough, ninety percent of the Hall's occupants were staring intently over at the Ravenclaw table. Kelsey seemed oblivious to them, even to the attentions of her 'minders', as she munched a piece of Vegemite toast and drank her apple juice.

'Stop _staring_, Harry,' Hermione hissed.

'Sorry,' Harry said hastily, turning back to his own breakfast. He didn't look up from it for at least five minutes. But then a little ripple of laughter got his attention. He looked up. The laughter was growing louder. He looked over at the Ravenclaw table.

Floating high above the Ravenclaw table was an illusion. It looked like a three-dimensional smoke picture. It was of Snape. But not just ordinary, everyday, greasy-haired Snape. Kelsey, who was apparently still very preoccupied with her breakfast, had apparently been talking to Neville at some point in her Hogwarts career.

This Snape was wearing a green dress which swished around his ankles as he moved slowly in a circle. He carried a big, red, plastic-looking handbag, and wore a ratty fox-fur scarf around his neck. And crowning the whole image was his tall hat, with a stuffed vulture atop it.

Neville, three seats away from Harry, was thrashing in his seat. Someone, probably Dean beside him, had stuffed a sleeve of his robes into his mouth, but Harry could still hear Neville's choked laughter. The whole Hall was laughing now, however, and Neville's giggling was almost unnoticeable. Even Professor McGonagall, up at the staff table, had cracked a smile. The only two not laughing were Snape, who looked utterly furious, and Kelsey, who went on placidly eating her breakfast.

Before Snape could do anything (like come down from the staff table and decapitate Kelsey, or something nice like that), there was a loud fluttering at the windows, announcing the arrival of the morning post. The Snape illusion dissipated as half a dozen post owls flew straight through it. Hedwig was amongst them, and flew down to land on Harry's shoulder.

Also amongst the owls was a very out-of-place visitor. The bright white wings and brilliant yellow crest of a sulfur-crested cockatoo swooped down to the Ravenclaw table: Harry saw it land at the Ravenclaw table, next to Kyla Anderson.

'You _would_, Kyla,' Cho said, giggling.

Kyla cocked an eyebrow. 'You mean you haven't met Tindysquawk yet? I thought you'd met him last year... no, I was still using that school owl then, wasn't I?... Tindy, say hello to Cho.'

'Hello, Cho!' the cockatoo squawked.

_It talks!_ Kelsey was amazed.

'He's a kind of parrot, really,' Kyla said. 'But he's Aussie, like me!' She fed Tindysquawk a bit of toast and he rubbed his head against her cheek affectionately. 'Got a letter for me, Tindy?' In response Tindy extended a leg and Kyla untied the ribbon holding the paper to his leg.

'Oh, right,' she said, face falling. 'Tindy, you flew all the way from Australia to bring me _this_ news?'

'What's wrong, Kyla?' Cho asked. Kelsey, meanwhile, was looking towards the window, where a pretty barn owl had just flown in.

Kyla looked at her, downcast. 'Norths lost the Grand Final!'

'What, your football Grand Final? Are the Norths your team?' Cho asked. Kelsey's barn owl landed at the table.

'Yeah. They were up against the Blues, should've been easy...'

Kelsey untied the note attached to her barn owl's leg.

Still fuming, Kyla attacked her Rice Bubbles. 'Stupid Norths... Carlton should've been a pushover...' Her grumbling was interrupted by Kelsey's cry of distress. Kelsey stood up, nearly knocking over her glass in the process, dropped her letter onto the table and ran out of the Hall.

'What...' Cho looked at Kyla. Kyla reached out and picked up Kelsey's letter. She unfolded it, read it, then looked at Cho, pale-faced. Across the table, Flitwick was demanding to know what was going on, and Professor Dumbledore was making his way hastily down from the staff table.

'Someone's stolen Duffy.'

* * *

The news and a fair scoop of rumours rippled round the school. Kelsey's dragon had been stolen from her home in Norway. Kelsey was hiding out in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid had Duffy hidden in his hut.

'Malfoy, that's not true!'

'So?'

Professor Trelawney was fluttering about and telling anyone who would listen that she'd known that something like this would happen to the _poor dear_, and if Kelsey had just _listened_ to her...

The day being Sunday, there were naturally no classes, and that made it a lot easier for Kelsey to hide. Harry, Hermione and Ron wandered the halls of Hogwarts searching, and just before lunch, they ran into Kyla and Cho.

'Hi.'

'Hi. Found Kelsey yet?'

Kyla shook her head, looking a mite annoyed. 'She's hidden herself bloody well,' she said, not without admiration. 'There're another dozen people looking for her... I heard even Ratboy Malfoy was looking for her.'

'Add that to the list,' Harry said to Ron. 'Ratboy Malfoy.' Ron nodded and mimed writing the nickname on the list.

Hermione grinned. 'Something about Draco Malfoy just makes people look at him and think "rodent", doesn't it?' she asked.

'Makes _me_ think "Kick. Hard.",' Kyla said.

Cho nodded. She had her dark hair in dozens of tiny braids today, each with a bead on the end. Her head rattled when she nodded. 'The question is, _why_ is Draco Malfoy looking for Kelsey Florence? We know why _we're_ looking for her.'

'He's probably trying to find her to laugh at her,' Ron said. 'Seems to be his sole purpose in life.'

'Hey, Weasley, don't make so free with the compliments,' came a familiar lazy drawl from behind them. Ron turned, raising his wand instinctively, to face Malfoy, who was accompanied by Goyle and Crabbe.

'What are _you_ doing here?' he said. 'Taking your pet rocks for a walk?'

Malfoy arched one eyebrow. 'It's a free school,' he said. 'Seen Florence around? I've got something I want to ask her.'

'No, we _haven't_,' Ron said. 'But if we do we'll be sure to tell her to stay away from you.'

Malfoy's sneer froze. 'Listen, Weasley, sometimes even _I_ have something civil to say, you know. Maybe it's important. Maybe I know where that stupid beast of hers is.'

'And maybe you don't have a clue,' Hermione said, stepping up beside Ron. 'Get lost, Malfoy -- preferably in the Forbidden Forest.'

'Can't your boyfriend speak for himself?' Malfoy asked. Hermione's face turned stony and she lifted her wand, but Ron grabbed her hand and pushed it back down. Malfoy sneered again, but turned and slouched off, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him.

'_What_ is his thing about you two?' Harry asked Ron and Hermione. 'Honestly, you'd think he'd have better things to do than make up silly rumours...' His voice trailed off as he saw that Hermione had gone very pink, and that Ron wasn't much better.

From behind him, Kyla let out a sudden, and very loud, wolf-whistle. 'Go _'Mione_!' Hermione went even redder and shook her head at the audacious Australian, who just grinned.

'You're not telling me...' Harry said slowly, gaze switching from Kyla to Hermione, then to Hermione's hand, still clasped in Ron's. 'You _are_...'

Ron and Hermione began to speak at exactly the same moment, words tumbling over each other like water over a weir.

'We thought that...'

'We didn't want to hurt you...'

'Sorry to go behind your back...'

'It just _happened_...'

'Sorry, Harry, really...'

'STOP IT!' Harry yelled finally. 'That's better,' he said into the sudden silence. Ron's mouth was still hanging open and Hermione reached up and pushed his chin, closing his mouth. 'Now, if _one_ of you can tell me, please...'

Hermione looked at him. 'We've been together since that night we studied together,' she said. 'We didn't tell you because we thought it might make you feel, I don't know, weird. And we're sorry for keeping it a secret so long.'

'Bloody miracle that you _did_,' said Kyla, 'considering the puppy-dog looks he keeps giving you.' Ron was, indeed, gazing at Hermione with an expression on his face that could only be described as adoration. 'Harry must be either blind or really thick not to have noticed...'

'I'm not _thick_!' Harry said indignantly. 'I was thinking about other things...'

_Like what?_ The words shot out from behind a nearby statue of Iris the Indomitable, a ferocious-looking witch holding a pickaxe and coil of rope.

'Kelsey, come out of there,' Cho ordered. The little girl stepped out from her hiding place, a small if rather sad smile on her face. 'We've been looking for you.'

_Just made a little dim charm... if someone walked past they might think I was just a piece of wall, or Iris's robes, or a dust-bunny,_Kelsey said. She waved her wand. _Now it's on all of us, just in case that rodent Malfoy should chance to pass this way again._

'Kelsey, are you all right?' Hermione asked.

_I'll be okay. That owl from my Dad just startled me a bit. But I know they'll find Duffy soon. There's no way that they couldn't. She's unlosable. She's too big!_

Kyla laughed. 'Guess you're right,' she said.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief that went unnoticed by anyone else as the topic turned to Kelsey. He didn't want to talk about what had been on his mind for so long, about Cedric and the Dark Lord and everything that had happened at the end of the previous year... he felt the minor Memory Charm he'd placed on himself beginning to fade again, and renewed it with a practiced mutter.

His attention snapped back to the others as Kyla laughed loudly at something. She was a nutcase, all right... Ron and Hermione were still holding hands, and Harry grinned at the sight.

'How could you have thought this would wreck everything?' he asked suddenly.

Hermione was still red-faced. 'Well... I've seen how people get left out...'

Harry snorted. 'Like that's going to happen here.'

'You could always get with Ginny,' suggested Kyla.

'WHAT?'

Kyla smirked. 'That answer alone makes me think you like her.'

Harry thought about it. Shy, pretty Ginny, Ron's little sister, with her individual sense of humour and her expressive brown eyes... Ginny, whom he'd rescued from Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets back in her first year at Hogwarts... Ginny, who lately seemed to be paying more attention to him than ever... he was about to open his mouth and say something, but realised that the conversation had already moved on. Kelsey was saying something to her wand in Dragon's Dialect, and Cho and Ron were discussing Quidditch.

_Good,_ he thought. Kelsey's mention of Ginny had started him thinking, and he wasn't sure he wanted to do it with everyone else around... a sudden pop! sound caught his attention. Hermione yelled indignantly as a shower of rice and confetti flew from Kelsey's wand and landed all over her and Ron. Ron just went redder than his hair and started laughing.

_Here comes the bride..._

'I never thought I'd say this to a mute person, but shut up, Kelsey,' Hermione said, red-faced and laughing herself. Kelsey smiled smugly. Kyla had the same expression on her face. Despite Duffy's theft, Kelsey looked happy, and Harry decided to join in with the same spirit. It wasn't the time to be thinking about Ginny, or the events of the previous year... he'd save it until later.

_I_ know _they'll find Duffy soon,_ Kelsey was repeating, and all those who saw her say it were uplifted by the young girl's resolve.


	8. Foreseeable Futures

But Duffy _wasn't_ found soon. November ended and December began. The term finished ten days before Christmas Day, and still there had been no owl to say that Duffy had been recovered.

Kelsey was now taking it very badly. Though she had a fighting personality, the loss of Duffy -- to whom she was very close -- was a hard one to bear.

On Tuesday afternoon, with six days to go until Christmas Day, most of the students who had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays were gathered in the library. It was warm and quiet, and if you didn't mind Madam Pince occasionally telling you off for looking sideways at the Restricted Section, it was a nice place to be.

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione were there. Kelsey, along with Cho and Kyla, was also there, all gathered around the same fireplace. Kyla was bemoaning the lack of marshmallows. Shenea, who was half-asleep on the hearth in front of the fireplace, told her off for even _thinking_ about eating in the library.

'Ever think about what you'll do when you leave school, Hermione?' Kyla asked. Since the incident in the corridor, Kyla, Cho and Kelsey had become firm friends with the Gryffindors. As Hermione pointed out, with the kind of blackmail material they had -- Malfoy would just _love_ to know that he was right about Ron and Hermione, for example -- they hardly had a choice.

Harry _thought_ she was joking.

Hermione shrugged. She was leaning against Ron with his arm around her, and both looked quite happy with the arrangement.

'Probably bemoan the fact that she hasn't got any more school to go to,' Ron said.

'Ron!' Hermione protested sleepily. 'There's always that school over in Canada,' she added, 'Toronto Advanced Magic Academy.'

'You _wouldn't_, would you?' Ron asked. 'Another four years of school... you've got to be joking.'

'Why have I got to be joking?' Hermione asked. 'It's perfectly reasonable.'

'What, you'd go off to Canada and leave all your friends here without so much as a goodbye?' Ron said.

'I never said I wouldn't say goodbye,' Hermione began heatedly.

'Shut up, you two,' Kyla said. 'So Hermione wants to go to wizard uni. Lovely. Ron, what about you?'

Ron turned a shade of red unattributable to the heat of the fire he was sitting next to, and mumbled something that nobody caught.

'What?'

'I said, I want to go with Hermione,' Ron said a little louder. 'Happy now?'

Kyla looked like the cat that got the cream _and_ found out that the canary was swimming in it. 'Exceedingly,' she purred, sounding like Shenea.

'What about Harry then?' Shenea herself asked. 'What big plans has the Boy Who Lived got for his future beyond Hogwarts?'

Harry grinned. 'Assuming I don't get minced by Voldemort in the meantime, I suppose being an Auror wouldn't be too bad,' he said. 'Cho?'

'Professional Quidditch player. And you should do it as well, Harry. With us on the same team, we'd never lose.

_Me too_, Kelsey said. _Except I'd be playing _against_ you. And the Karasjok Kites kick arse!_

Everyone laughed at Kelsey's contribution. She had been looking depressed, and anything cheerful from her had been strangely rare of late.

'Kyla, what about you?' Cho asked. 'What's our champion Keeper planning to do beyond Hoggy Warty Hogwarts?'

'Lord, don't ask _me_,' Kyla said. 'Madam Pomfrey still wants me to study with her after that thing in Potions last year, and I was thinking about magical medicine.'

'What _thing_ in Potions last year?' asked everyone who wasn't Cho and therefore didn't already know.

'_The_ thing, of course,' said George Weasley, plopping onto the floor beside them. Lee Jordan was with him. Surprisingly, Fred wasn't. 'When she saved Lee's life.'

Kyla was pink. 'Hardly saved his life,' she protested. 'Anyone could've done it...'

'Yeah, but _you_ did it, and isn't that the point?' George said. 'Lee was out cold on the floor and if you hadn't forced that antidote down his throat, he'd be playing a harp and wearing a halo right now.'

'Or not,' Lee said. 'Professor McGonagall certainly doesn't think so.'

'Wait a second,' Harry said, confused. 'Why was Lee lying on the floor anyway?'

'His potion went red instead of blue,' George said.

'And Snape wasn't too happy...' Lee added.

'So he made Lee drink it,' George finished.

Harry winced. 'And it was _poison_? Snape could get _fired_ for that!'

'I _think_ he would've used the antidote himself,' Kyla said, 'he wouldn't risk his job or anyone's life, even if he is a greasy git. No, fortunately Mr. I-haven't-washed-my-hair-in-seven-months was watching when I used my own potion to help Lee. And even more fortunately, Madam Pomfrey had just come in to ask Snape for some potion ingredients.'

Ron shook his head. 'Sounds like fun,' he said. 'About as much fun as being a hamster in a blender.'

While most of the others puzzled over this analogy, Harry asked another question.

'So where's Fred?'

'Ah,' George said. 'Now, we're not allowed to tell you that. In fact, we weren't even supposed to find out. When Fred realised we knew he made us swear, on pain of being put under a Hopping Hex for a week, not to tell a single person. Which is why,' -- and here George's face lit up with an extremely sly grin -- 'I am going to tell only this air molecule, right here,' -- he poked the air with his wand, and a tiny blue bubble appeared, floating between George's and Harry's faces -- 'about Fred going into Hogsmeade with Angelina Johnson.'

Ron started giggling. 'Not _really_?' he asked.

'Really,' Lee confirmed, glancing over his shoulder to check for Madam Pince, then turning Kyla's hair purple with a flick of his wand. 'They went into Hogsmeade, with plans to go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink, and then out to that little café -- what's it called? Steffan's? -- for dinner.'

'How romantic,' Kyla sighed. She hadn't noticed her hair yet.

'Oh, spare me,' Cho said. 'Kyla, you have purple hair.' She said this in the sort of tone someone might say 'It's raining' in.

'Good. Purple's my favourite colour.' Kyla rolled onto her stomach and groaned comfortably. 'Shenea, some marshmallows would really make this perfect.'

Before Shenea could say 'No way!' again, George had fished up his sleeve and pulled out a small paper packet.

'Here you are, Kyla, I found these at Honeydukes and thought of you and your toasted marshmallow obsession straight away,' he said. But something in the way there was a tiny smile lurking at the corners of his lips, and the muffled snort that came from Lee's general direction, combined to tell Harry that something was not quite on the level here.

'Ta, George,' Kyla said, spearing one of the pink marshmallows on the tip of her wand and holding it over the coals at the edge of the fire. The underside began to bubble immediately, and the sweet strawberry smell that emanated from the marshmallow set everyone's stomachs rumbling.

Kyla slid the cooked marshmallow off the wand and stuck it in her mouth. 'Oh. Ow, hot hot hot hot hot...'

'What did you expect?' Cho asked, raising an eyebrow superiorly.

'Tastes good, though,' Kyla mumbled around the sweet gooey mess in her mouth. She seemed unaware of what was happening to her, and oblivious to the giggles that Hermione, Cho, Ron and Kelsey had all broken into. 'Really good.'

'This was one of _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_, wasn't it?' Harry said in a low voice to George, who grinned and nodded. Lee, sitting beside George and out of Kyla's line of sight (she was still facing the fire), was rocking with convulsions of laughter.

_Kyla?_ Kelsey asked finally.

'Yuh-huh?' Kyla asked, sliding another marshmallow onto her wand.

_How can I put this... I know. You might not want to eat that._

'Why?'

_Because your face now matches your hair._

Sure enough, Kyla's face had turned an elegant shade of lavender. But even as they watched, it began to change colour, shading from lavender through to a deep blue.

'George Weasley, would this have been your idea, perchance?' Kyla inquired, pulling her second marshmallow out of the fire and holding it in one hand.

'Maybe,' George said.

Kyla pounced. After a brief tussle, she succeeded in getting him pinned, and stuffed the marshmallow into his mouth, then held his jaw closed until he swallowed.

'Anyone else for a Multicoloured Marshmallow?' Lee offered.

The resulting chorus of 'NO!' was so loud that they were kicked out of the library.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were in the Gryffindor common room. The Ravenclaws, along with Lee and George, had gone outside for a snowball fight, but Hermione had been ordered not to go out in the snow unless it was absolutely necessary. Madam Pomfrey was still worried that she might have a relapse of her mono, and so Hermione was to stay inside, just in case the cold and her weakened immune system had a nasty collision and landed her back in the hospital wing.

'You three could go outside,' Hermione said for the third time. 'You don't have to miss out on all the fun just because I'm in here.'

Ron looked over at her, and Harry had to look away. The look on Ron's face was strangely intense.

'You've got to be kidding,' he said. 'Why would I want to go outside when I could stay in here with you?'

'Oh... Ron... that's really sweet,' Hermione said, managing to look a little disturbed and pleased at the same time. 'But really...'

'_No_.'

'Okay,' said Hermione meekly.

There was a fluttering from the general direction of the stairway, and then Hedwig came powering through the doorway, circling to land on the arm of Harry's chair.

'Hello, Hedwig!' Harry said, scratching her head. 'What have you got for me?'

Hedwig stuck out her leg, looking important. Harry untied the note from her leg, then gave her an Owl Treat and unfolded the note. He read it quickly, then looked up at the others.

'Did either of you happen to pick up Kelsey's wand when we left the library?' he asked. 'Only she'd left it there by accident and when she went back it was gone.'

'No,' said Hermione, digging through her bag for her set of wizard chess pieces. 'Ron?'

'No, I didn't,' Ron said. 'Is she sure she left it there?'

'Positive. She says Shenea even told her it was still there when we all left -- she noticed it a few minutes later -- but by the time Kelsey came back for it, it was gone. There weren't many people in the library besides us, but Shenea thinks one of them might have picked it up by mistake and either taken it with them or put it back down somewhere else,' Harry said, reading over the note for a second time.

'Did she say anything else?' Hermione asked.

'Only that Kyla's just turned buttercup yellow,' Harry said, grinning.

Hermione and Ron laughed at this. 'Poor girl,' Hermione said.

The Memory Charm Harry was still using on himself was slipping again -- he wasn't old or skilled enough to use one of the more powerful charms, and this one only lasted a few hours at a time. He reached down to his bag, which was on the floor, and started looking for his wand.

'Where _is_ it?' he muttered to himself.

'Where's what?' Hermione asked.

'My wand. I've lost it.'

'No, you haven't. It's right here,' Ron said, picking Harry's wand up from the table and handing it to him, giving him an odd look at the same time. 'Harry, are you all right?'

'Huh? I'm fine,' Harry said. Now Ron _and_ Hermione were giving him odd looks, and he didn't really feel like performing the charm in front of them -- they would want to know what he wanted to forget, and he didn't feel like explaining it any more than he had felt like explaining it just after it had happened.

'You're _not_ fine,' Hermione said. 'You're as pale as Nearly Headless Nick.' The resident ghost of Gryffindor was, indeed, very pale. 'You can tell us what's wrong, we're your friends.'

'It's just last year, that's all,' Harry muttered. 'I don't want to think about it, OK?' He turned his wand on himself, and the next second heard Hermione say 'Expelliarmus!'. Harry looked at her to see her holding his wand as well as her own.

'What exactly is bothering you?' she asked, folding her arms.

'Everything.' Harry sank back into his chair and shook his head. 'Vold- sorry, Ron -- You-Know-Who rising again. When he killed Cedric just because Cedric was there. And all that talk about big plans, and Sirius and everyone having special jobs...' He shook his head. 'I don't want to talk about it.'

'Look, Harry,' Ron said, 'I don't want to be mean or anything, but shouldn't you remember these things, instead of running from them? I mean, it can't be good for you, hiding it from yourself all the time.'

'Maybe you're right,' Harry said.

'He is, Harry. I suggest that you don't use that Memory Charm again,' Hermione said. When Harry looked at her, surprised -- how had she known which spell he was using? -- she just grinned and said, 'I'm a prefect, Harry, I know these things.'

'I'll try not to hide from it anymore, then,' Harry said heavily. 'It's terrible, that's all... even seeing my parents was bad, because I knew that they were just going to have to go away again.'

Hermione gave him back his wand and patted his hand sympathetically. 'But you're a strong person, Harry, and facing up to this kind of thing can only make you stronger.'

'You sound like Professor McGonagall,' Ron said. 'Come on, let's get on with this game, Prefect Hermione.' His chess pieces were pacing the board impatiently.

'At least she doesn't go on about being a prefect like Percy did,' Harry said, drawing his chair around to watch the other two.

Hermione moved her king pawn forward two spaces. 'That's because I'm too perfect to boast like that,' she said with her nose in the air.

Ron matched her move. 'Yeah, really sounds like it,' he said.

'Oh, Ron, I'm only kidding. The only reason I'm not making a big deal about it is because I don't want people making fun of me for that as well,' Hermione said, moving her knight.

Ron mirrored her move again. 'You've got the power, Hermione. Why not take two thousand points off Malfoy for being a scrawny git?' he asked.

'Prefects can only take small amounts of points off, and only for good reasons... oh, you're just being silly, aren't you?' Hermione sighed. Ron grinned at her.

'I'm glad I wasn't made a prefect,' Harry said.

'Yeah... why weren't you?' Ron asked.

'Professor McGonagall said it was because she thought I'd do better to concentrate on my schoolwork,' Harry said. 'She said Hermione could manage both at once -- being a prefect isn't all special bathrooms and taking points off people -- but with the year I had last year I probably didn't need any added stress.'

'I think she's right,' Hermione said. 'Oh! Ron! What _did_ you do to that pawn!'

The two became embroiled in an argument over Ron making moves when Hermione wasn't watching. Harry shook his head and took his quill and a piece of parchment out of his bag. As long as he was being ignored, he'd write to Sirius.

* * *

Kelsey's wand didn't turn up until the small group of students who had stayed for the Christmas break gathered in the Great Hall for the evening meal. It was sitting on her plate at her accustomed seat at the single table which accommodated all the students present, and had a note tied to it with a blue ribbon.

'Oh, good!' Harry said, seeing her pick it up. 'Someone must have found it and put it here for you!'

Kelsey nodded and untied the note. Unrolling it, her eyes flickered back and forth across the round, feminine handwriting Harry could just see over her shoulder. As she read, her eyes grew wider, and when she reached the signature, she let out a hiss and ripped the note in half.

'What's going on? Oh -- Kelsey, who returned your wand?' Cho asked, seeing it in her hand.

_Someone_, Kelsey replied in wand-writing. _Someone I didn't expect would actually return it, really._

Cho shook her head. 'Kel, you're weird.'

_It's an art form. Let's eat._

Harry puzzled over who might have returned the wand and caused Kelsey to react the way she had, but then the food appeared on the plates and he sat down to eat. Compared with the Christmas feast, which Ron had already been talking about for days, their everyday meals were quite plain, but the food was still very good. Harry was surprised -- or was he? -- to see that Kelsey was only picking at her food. She looked immensely worried about something, and there was no telling what.

'Who were we up to?' George asked suddenly. 'You know, we got as far as Kyla, and we don't know what everyone else is planning to do when they leave Hogwarts.'

'Only because we got rather sidetracked,' Kyla said. 'Are Fred and Angelina back yet, by the way?'

'Nope,' Lee said. 'They were going to stay out late and come back in at about eleven o'clock.'

'Fred Weasley,' said Harry, 'would be the _last_ person I would expect the teachers to trust with staying in Hogsmeade until eleven o'clock at night.'

George shrugged and glanced up at the staff table. Some of the teachers had gone home for the holidays, but Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Firenze, Sprout and Flitwick were all up there eating dinner. Snape was glaring at Harry, as usual. McGonagall and Firenze were both watching Kelsey. 'I don't know,' he said, 'don't they reckon that all teachers have to be a bit mental to become teachers in the first place?'

'Mental, George. Not stupid,' said Harry.

'We were,' said Kyla, trying to redirect the conversation, 'up to Ginny.' She nodded at Ginny, who looked up from her mashed potatoes. 'What do you want to do when you leave Hogwarts, Gin?'

'I'm not really sure,' said Ginny vaguely. 'Professor Firenze said I should be an Auror or something like that, because I'm doing really well in Defence Against the Dark Arts. But I don't know if I want to do that, or something less... deadly.'

Most of her group burst out laughing if they were paying attention.

'Nice one, Ginny,' Harry said. 'Makes me feel _much_ better about becoming an Auror.'

Ginny went pink. 'I didn't mean to put you off,' she said, dropping her fork under the table and diving after it, covered in confusion. Harry looked at Ron and raised an eyebrow. Ron looked back, rolling his eyes.

'Ginny, you can come out now,' Cho said, looking down at the floor. 'Big bad Harry's talking to Ron now.'

'Er, yes,' Harry said. 'Ron, what d'you think you'll get for Christmas?'

Ron shook his head. 'Taking a wild guess, I'd say a maroon jumper from Mum,' he said. 'But that's only if she decides to ignore tradition _completely_, you know, go right against the grain...'

'Do I detect a tad of sarcasm in your voice, Mr Weasley?' Kyla asked, doing an uncanny impression of Professor McGonagall. Everyone down their end of the table laughed.

'What's it to you?' Ron sneered, pretending to be Malfoy. 'Look! I hang around with walking rocks!'

'Ron, he'll _hear_ you!' Hermione whispered, trying not to laugh. Malfoy was at the other end of the same table, sitting with Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson. 'He's only right there, Ron, be careful...'

'Don't worry, Hermione, Ron could beat Malfoy with one arm tied to the Whomping Willow,' Kyla said. 'Provided that Malfoy had insulted you first, of course...'

'Kyla, your perceptiveness is very irritating at times,' Hermione said.

Kyla sketched a little bow. 'Thank you, ma'am. No further questions.'

'Kyla?'

'Yes?'

'You're lime green.'


	9. En-Egg-Ma

And then there was a day when everything strange that could possibly happen, seemed to happen.

Of all the days it could be, it was Christmas Day.

Harry woke up at six in the morning, Ron snoring away in the next bed over, and blinked until his eyes weren't threatening to stay closed any more. Then he picked up his glasses from the bedside table and put them on, stretched and yawned. He could see the dim shadowy outline of a pile of presents on the floor at the end of his bed when he opened the drapes around it, and Ron had a similar heap.

There was no way he was going to go back to sleep now. Harry got out of bed, slipping his feet into his slippers, and padded over to Ron's bed. Twitching the drapes aside, he considered shaking Ron's shoulder, then abandoned that idea and simply picked up a glass of water from Ron's table and tipped it carefully over his friend's head.

'What? Huh? Rain? How?' Ron woke up quickly, spluttering, and caught sight of the manic grin on Harry's face. He couldn't help but laugh as Harry put the glass down and laughed at him. 'Harry, you're an idiot.'

'Merry Christmas,' Harry said, still laughing. 'Hey, Neville! Dean! Seamus! It's Christmas! Wake up and open your presents!'

This met with a mixed response; Neville's buzz-saw snoring halted, but Dean simply rolled over, muttering something about kippers, and Seamus stuck his head under his pillow.

'Well,' Harry said. 'Some people just don't have the Christmas spirit.' And he advanced on Dean's bed, armed with another glass of water.

* * *

Something Harry had always wondered about at Christmas (but not too hard), was how people like Draco Malfoy spent their Christmas mornings. Did Malfoy get a maroon jumper every year from his mother, or -- almost literally -- rock cakes from Hagrid? What did a Slytherin do on Christmas morning?

* * *

Crabbe and Goyle were big on tearing into their presents and leaving wrappings all over the floor, which they were already doing by the time Malfoy woke up at ten past six. A yawn stretching his pale lips, he got out of bed and ran a brush through his white hair before heading for the small stack of gifts at the end of his bed. He was a tidy unwrapper -- folding each piece of paper neatly and setting it aside.

As usual, Crabbe and Goyle had given him bars of Honeydukes' best chocolate, with jokes on the cards about fattening him up. _Wasn't aware they could write!_ Malfoy thought spitefully as he did every year. He knew he was, well, slender, but he certainly didn't want to be big and thick like them.

His mother's fine, pointed writing adorned the front of an envelope; inside was a card and a neatly folded green and silver scarf with snakes embroidered on it. The card was signed 'Your loving Mother, Narcissa', and had a tiny X and O underneath the signature. Narcissa Malfoy was better at being affectionate from a distance.

Malfoy skimmed the rest of the pile -- cards mostly, one from Pansy with hearts drawn all over the envelope (he didn't open that one), the occasional gift from one of his relatives, always either Slytherin-coloured or with the Malfoy crest on it, whatever it was. He put the scarf on when he began to get cold, kneeling on the stone floor, and then found his father's card right at the bottom of the pile.

'Ah,' he murmured, oblivious to the bemused looks from Goyle and Crabbe. 'Another Lucius Malfoy special.' It was, of course, a card with the Malfoy crest on the front. This year his father's inspirational message was, 'Winning may not be everything, but losing is nothing.' And he'd made a comment on Malfoy's lack of ability to surpass Hermione Granger in class. Another one to consign to the fire.

Maybe next year he'd treat himself, and burn it without reading it.

* * *

At about half-past six, Hermione and Ginny met up with Harry and Ron in the Gryffindor common room, and they went down to breakfast together. Hermione was self-consciously wearing a Muggle woollen beanie with a pompom on the top. It was probably nice and warm, and hid her hair -- well, mostly -- but Harry could see that she wasn't too comfortable about wearing it.

'Lot of people here this year,' Ron commented as they walked into the Great Hall.

'They realised how nice Christmas at Hogwarts is and stayed back,' Harry replied.

Ginny was ohing and ahing over the decorations in the Hall -- someone had charmed the ceiling to release lots of little glittery snowflakes, and they had fallen in drifts in some places (though, luckily or by design, nowhere where people actually had to sit on or eat from). Hagrid had quite a lot caught in his beard. They skidded straight off Snape's hair.

'Merry Christmas, everyone!' Dumbledore was beaming down at the Hall from the staff table. 'May I say that you have all been exceedingly well-behaved these holidays, and we all would like to congratulate you for that.'

Snape looked as if he wasn't interested in congratulating anyone for anything, and Harry wondered why.

'It's probably because he's just realised he's got to work with Hagrid when we go to Norway,' Ron said as they settled down at their table. 'Hi, Kelsey! Kyla! Come over here!'

The two Ravenclaws, about to sit down, glanced over, then hauled Cho out of her seat and came to join the Gryffindor table. Fortunately there was enough room for them.

_Hello everyone! Merry Christmas!_

'Merry Christmas, Kelsey,' Hermione said, giving her a hug. 'Kyla, glad to see you're back to normal.'

Kyla, who had tinsel woven into her hair, grinned. 'I'm never normal,' she said. 'Did you get my pressie?'

'Yes, thanks, it was lovely.' Kyla had given her a diary, its cover charmed to change colours. 'I'll write in it every night,' Hermione promised.

'Yeah, right,' Kyla said. 'I always say that and keep forgetting.' She held up her own diary, which she kept hidden in her robes. 'My girl complains a lot.'

'Complains? How?' Hermione said.

'Well, if you write in these magic diaries, they write back,' Kyla said. Ginny shuddered, and Harry (who had somehow ended up sitting next to her) gave her a quick hug. Ginny blushed and buried her face in her own diary, which was a new, non-magical, Muggle one that Hermione had bought for her.

'I couldn't stand a diary that talked back to me,' Harry said.

'Fair dinkum? It's pretty useful for advice and that,' Kyla said.

_Just can't get over your Aussie slang_, Kyla, Kelsey put in.

'Really? Sweet, mate,' Kyla said. 'Hey, here comes the mail! Tindy! Tindy! I'm over here!'

The morning mail was arriving, and Tindysquawk flew over the Ravenclaw table before spotting his mistress at the Gryffindor table. Kelsey's barn owl and Cho's pretty black raven followed him. The collection of birds was strange, and Harry laughed.

'Harry, this is Tindysquawk,' Kyla said. 'He's a sulphur-crested cockatoo, and I didn't think he was going to come over to Scotland, but then he was allowed.' She hugged the big bird and grinned.

Harry nodded, but he was more interested in what Kelsey's ghost-faced barn owl was struggling to carry in a sling between its claws.

_Spøkelse, what have you for me?_ Kelsey asked, a puzzled look on her face. She had recognised the dusty blue-grey oval object in the sling only seconds before the others, but was the most confused nonetheless.

'That's a dragon's egg!' Ron blurted.

_Yes. And since the eggs differ from species to species, I recognise it._ Kelsey lifted the egg from the sling and Spøkelse collapsed gratefully onto the red tablecloth, looking more ghostly than ever. _This is the egg of a Scandinavian Blue, and since I know of only three Blues of breeding age, I can wager a guess as to whose egg Spøkelse has brought me._

'Duffy's,' Hermione said promptly.

Kelsey nodded. _Duffy's. Which means that someone has found her and she is back at the farm, or that someone has taken her and sent me this as a joke._ She put the leathery egg down on the table and sighed, blowing snowflakes off her nose. _Is there a note in the sling?_

'No,' Hermione said, looking. 'Wait, I mean yes. But it fell out. And maybe it's not from whoever sent you the egg.'

_Someone could have intercepted Spøkelse on her way here, _Kelsey guessed. _Let me see the letter._

Hermione handed it over, and Kelsey read it. For a moment she turned as white as Draco Malfoy, but then her face returned to normal and she folded the note back into its envelope.

'Who was it from?' Cho asked.

_Not the person who sent the egg_, Kelsey said. _Just a Merry Christmas from my parents._

She was lying. But nobody found that out until later.

Harry had a message, brought by an anonymous-looking brown owl, from Sirius. It was very short, but wished him a Merry Christmas and asked if he could be by the fire in the Gryffindor common room at midnight. Since Harry knew that Sirius was back with Lupin, he had the feeling that he'd be paid a visit at midnight. Hoping his reply would get back to Sirius in time (just so his godfather knew he'd be there), Harry borrowed Hermione's quill, wrote a quick answer on the back of the note, and sent the owl off after it had dipped its beak in his pumpkin juice, which rather put him off the juice.

* * *

_Dear Mummy and Daddy,_ Kelsey wrote,

_I have just received a dragon's egg from my sister. She is still under the impression that I do not know where she is, although you two and I all know that I believe I do. I am as sure of my facts now as I have ever been, and I believe that she will make her big move when the fifth-years come and visit the farm in March. _ _She would want to see me suffer again, if she could possibly manage to take Danny right from under my nose. She knows how I love him._

_The egg she sent me will stay in the fire down at Hagrid's hut. I spent all morning discussing this with the Headmaster, with Hagrid, and with half a dozen other people._

Kelsey paused and bit her quill, apparently thinking hard. Harry, watching her from across the library, didn't know what she was writing or who it was to, but the solemn expression on the young girl's face indicated that he shouldn't go and interrupt her.

_I suggested to Professor Dumbledore that he should allow Hagrid to keep the baby, which I have already discovered will be female. I haven't forgotten how to read the bump-patterns on the shell, Daddy! _Kelsey smiled to herself, and Harry smiled when he saw it. It was one of the first smiles he had seen on her in a while.

_Love, your daughter,_

_Kelsey._

Kelsey blotted her letter, folded it, and tucked it into an envelope, which she then began addressing. Harry judged that it was safe enough to approach her now, and sidled over to sit down beside her at the table.

'Hi, Kelsey.'

_Hi, Harry. How are you?_

'I'm fine, thanks. Writing to your parents?' Harry asked.

_Was that just a lucky guess?_

'You looked awfully serious,' Harry said.

Kelsey shrugged. _I had something serious to talk about._ She looked up, and straight into Harry's eyes. _You have something serious inside you._

'Like what?'

_Harry, we all have things in our pasts that we try to run from. But if we don't turn and face them, they jump us from behind._ Kelsey made a snarling face and turned her hands into claws. _You've been using a Memory Charm since the disastrous end of last year, and even though you've decreased the amount of times you use it, you're still blocking it all out._ She reached out and patted Harry on the head. _Up here is where most things go wrong in people, and I can feel that it's starting to go wrong in you._

'So?' Harry muttered, feeling absurdly like Draco Malfoy for some reason. Maybe it was the sneer he could feel twisting his lips. 'I don't care.'

_You're coming outside with me. It's time for you to face up to this fear._

* * *

She led him out to the Quidditch pitch, which was muddy and very used-looking, and made him sit on the edge of one of the bleachers.

_Now, I have no idea how long it will take for your latest Memory Charm to wear off, so I'm going to take it off you in two minutes' time. You might wonder what right I have to do it, and you might not like the idea of it at all, but the simple truth is that I _have_ to do it. You can't get one of your friends to do it, because they won't -- Hermione, maybe, but Ron won't._

'Why are you doing this? You hardly even know me,' Harry said.

_That may be so, but I know that the world needs the Boy Who Lived. Once this is over, you won't need to use the Memory Charm again. And then I need to tell you something very important, _Kelsey said. _Something to do with that letter to my parents; something which may concern you as well._

Harry closed his eyes. 'All right, get on with it,' he said. His voice seemed to be coming from somewhere very far away as he felt Kelsey tap his head with her wand.

* * *

Almost instantly he felt a sharp pain sear through the scar on his forehead. He opened his eyes -- or at least, he thought he did -- and found himself not on the bleachers, but hovering over a cemetery, watching himself appear, clutching the Triwizard Cup.

He saw Cedric being killed... saw Wormtail making his preparations... and then -- horror of horrors -- saw Voldemort rise again. Not even a demon from the darkest depths of Hell could look as terrifying as Voldemort did, looming over the past-Harry and threatening him.

He saw the Death Eaters Apparating... rejoining their master... Malfoy's father amongst them... and sucked in a deep breath as Voldemort performed the Cruciatus Curse on one of them.

Then it was time for the duel... he and Voldemort raised their wands, preparing for battle... and were encased by the glowing golden cage once more. He saw Cedric's ghost appear... then all else was blotted out as he saw his parents again. His father, so like him; his mother, so pretty and young... Harry had time for the crazy thought that he couldn't believe that they were related to the disgusting Dursleys, before the scene flipped back to Hogwarts.

Again he lived through the discovery of Cedric's death... being taken in by Barty Crouch, as he pretended to be Mad-Eye Moody... and finally, being saved by Dumbledore, who had seen through the farce just in time.

* * *

When Harry opened his eyes again he wasn't quite sure where he was. Sprawled out flat, on a bench? Where was Dumbledore? What was going on?

A strange series of growling -- almost singing -- noises came from his left, and Harry managed to turn his head and look up to where Kelsey was sitting, legs crossed, looking solemnly down at him.

_Do you feel better? _she asked.

Harry mentally examined himself and realised that yes, he did indeed feel a little better. Maybe running away from his fears wasn't the way to go. He nodded, and Kelsey smiled.

_Good. I was beginning to worry that I had done the wrong thing._ She cocked her head to the side and looked at him intently. _Now I have helped you, I need you to help me._

'Sure, whatever,' Harry said. 'What's up?'

He was half-expecting a rant about the way Malfoy had been following her around -- the pale little rat had really been getting annoying lately -- but it was something quite a bit more serious than that.

_You recall the story of my sister?_

'Yes, of course.'

_I know where she is._

Harry felt all his breath escape in one big rush. 'You- you know where she is?' he asked shakily. 'Why on Earth haven't you told someone? Dumbledore, or--'

_Because I have reason to believe that I can catch her in the act of... well, doing something wrong. And if I can do that, then she can be taken to the Winzengamot and forced to reverse the spell she placed on me,_ Kelsey said. Her pale face was determined. She looked disturbingly like Malfoy sometimes did in the middle of a Quidditch match. _If I say something to the wrong person at the wrong time, Brynja may escape again. I have been searching for her ever since I had the resources. I have used every option from wizarding grapevines to the Muggle Internet. And I have finally tracked her down._

'So where is she?' Harry asked.

_I am not going to tell you yet. I trust you, Harry, but you might tell someone. I will tell you when I need you to help me. I may need you to help me bring her in, to fight her and subdue her enough to take her to court. I may need you to give evidence -- to tell the court that I really do have this disability._

'But you're _famous_ for it,' Harry said.

_There are people who would claim it was voluntary mutism. As I understand it, my sister has a lot of nasty friends. _Kelsey's scared blue gaze met Harry's. _I think she became a Death Eater._

'That's impossible. Vol- You-Know-Who was already out of action by the time your sister did what she did,' Harry said.

_If there is one thing I have learned from coping with this disability, Harry, _Kelsey replied_, it is that _nothing_ is impossible if you try hard enough. Another Death Eater may have inducted her into their ranks. Now. Will you help me, when the time comes? You and Ron and the others too? Remember that this may involve some sort of magical battle, though I hope not, for all our sakes._

Harry looked into the young girl's earnest, silent face, and felt a wave of -- something -- flood over him. If his parents had lived long enough to give him a little sister, he thought at that moment that someone like Kelsey would have been very nice.

'Sure,' he said. 'Definitely.'

_Good! _Kelsey jumped up and offered him a hand up. _Now, back to the castle. It's time to party!_

* * *

After talking to Kelsey, Harry felt as if one load had been lifted from his shoulders and replaced with another. On their way up to the castle, Kelsey had warned him to say nothing to anyone except Ron and Hermione, and now he was bursting to tell them.

But unfortunately, Fred and George Weasley had organised a huge snowball fight right outside the castle doors, even including some of the teachers (though not Snape), and he and Kelsey were roped right in by way of two smacking snowballs hitting them in the face.

'Come on, Harry!' Fred yelled. He and Angelina were standing side by side and looked the very picture of Yuletide happiness. 'Bring Kelsey and throw something! Not Kelsey,' he added hastily.

'Harry!' Hermione was hiding behind a snow fort with Ron. 'Join our team!' She waved at him. She was all bundled up in her robes and what looked like a Muggle ski parka, along with a bright red scarf wound tightly around her neck.

Harry and Kelsey ran to join them. Kyla was frantically stockpiling snowballs, while shivering away and almost turning blue.

'This is too bloody cold!' she said. 'Hell's bells, even Down Under we don't get it this cold, and we're right next door to Antarctica!' She tightened her scarf around her neck and threw a snowball at the back of George's head. 'Come on Harry, help me out here!'

From a second fort some twenty yards away and built securely between two trees, Sprout, Firenze and Flitwick were pelting their students with snowballs. Dumbledore popped up and hurled one at Harry. Shenea was sitting on the front wall of the fort, taunting the students and flicking her tail.

'Never seen them act so playfully!' Ron said, grinning. 'Think I saw McGonagall over there a minute ago, too!'

_Someone lift me up on their shoulders and aim me in that direction! _Kelsey ordered. Ron lifted her and Kelsey pointed her wand at the teachers' fort. Nothing happened for a moment, then a miniature blizzard burst from the end of her wand and flew at the professors. Ron dropped her back onto the ground, as he was laughing too hard to hold her much longer.

'Miss Florence!'

'Yep, McGonagall's over there all right,' Harry deadpanned.

Ginny popped up beside him, cheeks glowing red as berries. 'Hi, Harry!' she said breathlessly. 'Did you see Kelsey's spell?'

'Yeah. Pretty amazing!'

'Think she'll teach me?'

'Ask her!' Harry ducked as one of the teachers sent a matching blizzard back in their direction, and was hit with a volley of snowballs from the Slytherin fort across the way. 'Help!'

'Are we supposed to be in House forts, or what?' Kyla asked. ''Cos maybe Kelsey and I should be attacking you... from within!' She dumped most of her stockpile of snow on Ron's head and laughed triumphantly.

'Kyla! You rotten little... _really_!' Hermione gasped.

'That's right, I'm a rotten little really. Excellent language skills, Miss Granger.' Kyla slung Kelsey over her shoulder and made for the Ravenclaw fort, across the no-man's-land of the middle clearing. They were both soaked through by the time they got there, of course, being bombarded by the other three houses as well as the staff.

'Hi, Harry!' a semi-familiar voice called from behind Harry. He turned to see Charlie Weasley grinning at him.

'Charlie? What're you doing here?' he asked.

'Well, Dumbledore got in touch with me and said that young Miss Florence over there had been delivered a dragon's egg. He thought it might ease people's minds if I came over and checked it out, just to make sure it was alright,' Charlie said, ducking Flitwick's snowball and nodding.

'I'm sure Kelsey will feel a lot better,' Harry said, grinning. 'Although she might be a bit annoyed that Professor Dumbledore brought in a stranger.'

'Oh, she'll get over it, all right,' Charlie said. 'In the meantime, I haven't seen my dear brothers for a while, and thought I'd stay a couple of nights.' He caught Ron by one arm and rubbed snow in his hair. Ron yelped. 'And of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to saturate a few teachers.' He hurled a wad of snow in the general direction of McGonagall. 'By the way, I think I know why darling Snape isn't out here.'

'Why?' Harry asked.

'Because when I first got here, he was sitting down near the lake, in that little clearing where a lot of the seventh-years, um, go sometimes, and he had a very pensive expression on his face.' Charlie smirked.

'Snape, pensive?' Ron said. 'Wonder why.'

Charlie tilted his head to one side and winked. 'I'm not saying anything. I just think it might be worth inv....' Whatever he had been about to say was cut off as Professor Firenze's well-aimed snowball hit him right in the mouth.

Just then, Snape himself came out onto the wide front steps of the castle. His arms were folded, but though he wasn't smiling, there was a noticeable lack of his customary annoyed scowl. He waved Dumbledore over to him and the headmaster went, being bombarded with snowballs on his way.

Apparently Snape was telling Dumbledore that Christmas dinner was ready, but Harry was more interested in the expression on the Potions master's face. He seemed to be craning up to see past Dumbledore, down to the snowy grounds below, looking for someone. And as Dumbledore turned to tell the snowballers to come inside, Snape spotted whoever it was he was looking for.

The transformation his face underwent was... well, strange was perhaps the best word for it. A faint blush came to his usually pallid cheeks, his chin lifted, and strangest of all... Snape _smiled_. Not a poisonous smirk, either, but a genuine smile.

As one, Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, who had also noticed what Harry was looking at, swung to look in the direction of Snape's stare.

He was looking at the teachers' snow fort.

'_Please_ tell me he's not looking at Professor McGonagall,' Hermione said, crossing her fingers. Her mouth twisted into a little moue of disgust. 'That's just disturbing.'

'Who?' Charlie asked.

'Snape's _gazing_,' Ron said, injecting incredulity and distaste into his voice. 'Down _there_.'

Charlie looked in that general direction. 'Well, if it's not Minerva, it's that new teacher, or it's that cat,' he said. 'Pardon me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that cat formerly human? Is that the one?'

'Yesh,' Ron said, spitting snow -- Padma Patil had thrown a snowball at him on her way past, not that he knew that it was she who had done it. 'That's Shenea, Charlie -- do you know her too?'

'Sort of,' Charlie said. 'But who's the new teacher? Only I think I vaguely recognise her.'

'That's Professor Firenze,' Hermione said. 'She's from Italy.'

'Professor Bianca Firenze,' Ron added. 'She teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts. She's been teaching us some really loopy things, too. More about sort of defending yourself against going insane, I think. I'm not sure, exactly.'

'Oh, Ron, don't you ever pay attention?' Hermione asked.

Ron reached out and took her hand, then generously dumped snow over her head with his other hand. While she was still spluttering, Harry realised that they were going to be late up to dinner.

'Come on, everyone!' he said. 'You don't want to miss Christmas dinner!'

'I should say not!' Charlie said. 'Best part of Hogwarts, Christmas dinner. Well, maybe the first day feast. Or...'

'Oh, come on Charlie,' Ron said exasperatedly.

* * *

With all the excitement of Christmas, including a visit from Dobby the house-elf in the afternoon -- although Harry had been prepared this time and had a real present for him, consisting of a small winter scarf and a beanie, both in bright colours -- Harry didn't have time to tell his friends about the conversation with Kelsey until late in the night.

The three of them were sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Harry had to be there to see Sirius later on anyway, and he didn't think that his godfather would mind if the other two were there. Natalie McDonald and Dennis Creevey had finally gone to bed a few minutes ago, after causing twice as much trouble as usual in honour of the day. There were still scorch marks on the wall from the Exploding Enchiladas they'd decided to make as a snack.

'So, Harry, what did you want to tell us?' Ron asked. He was sitting on a sofa, across from Harry, with Hermione leaning against him, half asleep. 'Or rather, what did Kelsey want you to tell us?'

Harry briefly described the events that had led up to Kelsey asking him for help. Hermione mumbled something about how pleased she was that he wasn't running from his fears any more. But when Harry told them that Kelsey's sister was, apparently, on the loose and Kelsey wanted them to help fight her, Hermione's reaction was quite different.

'But Brynja Florence is probably a powerful Dark witch by now,' she said. 'It's one thing to battle You-Know-Who, Harry, but you don't have any personal ties to this.'

'Hermione, you might not think that, but I do,' Harry said firmly. 'Kelsey is my friend, and if I can do anything to help her, I will. Anyway, we might not be in danger. We might have a really easy job.'

'Or we might all end up mute. Or dead. Or both,' Ron said.


	10. Past Perils

After the excitement of the Christmas holidays was over, it was back to work for all of Hogwarts. For the fifth years, it was time to begin studying in earnest for the O.W.L.s, and there was also the promise of their excursion to Norway in March.

* * *

Kelsey was sitting in the Herbology garden, idly weeding the herb bed and occasionally checking the time using a spell Professor Flitwick had taught her. She didn't want to sit out here for too long, in case she missed her Transfiguration class. She wasn't very good at Transfiguration, despite being so advanced, and she wanted to ask Professor McGonagall for some extra help.

She wished it were March already. She missed her parents, and the longer she spent at Hogwarts, the more nervous she felt. Not that Dumbledore wasn't doing everything he could to keep her safe, but then, he didn't know how close the danger really was.

Kelsey knew where her sister was, but didn't dare to let on to anyone that she knew, apart from Harry, and her other newfound friends. She desperately wanted to confront Brynja and ask her where Duffy was -- she _had_ to know -- but knew that if she did, Brynja would vanish again. Unfortunately, she was going to have to wait until Brynja tried something drastic, and risk her own safety in order to expose her sister.

A rustle from the third row of herbs in the garden alerted Kelsey to the presence of a small animal. She couldn't see what it was. A squirrel? A bird? Kelsey got up on her knees and peered into the greenery.

It was a rat. A rather battered-looking rat, at that. It looked in severe need of help. Kelsey didn't really like rats much, but she reached into the garden and picked it up anyway. It struggled in her hands, but then looked up into her face and relaxed.

_I wish I could talk_, Kelsey thought. _I could ask you why you seem so afraid._

She stood up and turned towards the castle, holding the rat against the front of her robes, stroking the patchy fur on the top of its head absently as she walked, unaware of what -- or rather, who -- exactly it was that she carried.

* * *

Brynja Florence was sitting in her small room, watching her sister by means of a crystal ball. She had aged, of course, since stealing her sister's voice, but had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Although she was in disguise, which had been effected by some very simple spells, she had tried to stay away from her sister as much as she logically could. There were times when she needed to take risks -- like the time she'd stolen Kelsey's wand -- but without risk, life was no fun.

She watched Kelsey pick the rat up and her lips tightened. Kelsey was probably too young and too naïve to realise who it was she carried, but Brynja recognised him -- recognised him very well. And she would have to do something about it, lest Kelsey show the rat to one of her new friends, because whatever Wormtail had been sent here for, they couldn't risk Harry Potter finding out about it.

Brynja slid her hand up under the sleeve of her robes, rubbing at the Dark Mark there. It was invisible for the moment, but her skin felt like it was humming. She drew her wand from its pocket in her sleeve and refreshed her appearance, then made a pass over the crystal ball, which went dark. In her short life she had gained Divination powers that would rival those of Cassandra Vablatsky. But she rarely used them -- she and her associates were more concerned with the present than the future.

Had they been more inclined to foresight, Brynja Florence would have been saved a great deal of trouble.

* * *

Kelsey stopped in the Entrance Hall. One of her bootlaces was trailing. She'd nearly tripped over it. She put the rat down on the floor to fix it, and the rat scurried away across the floor in the direction of the stairs.

__

_Oh... come back!_ Kelsey wished she could call after it. There were so many times when having a voice would come in handy -- like the time her father had fallen from Danny's back during takeoff and lain in the cold, arm broken, for half an hour as Kelsey ran through the snow towards the house, unable to cry for help. She had been seven at the time.

But never mind the rat. It was inside now, so it was better off than being outside in the cold. It was warm inside, and there was food, and provided that the rat didn't cross Mrs. Norris's path, it would probably be all right.

As it happened, she was right -- although not quite in the way that she had thought.

* * *

Brynja was, of course, within Hogwarts. She had no illusions that nobody suspected her -- she was sure that Kelsey had at least some idea -- but it did afford her some good opportunities. Not long after Wormtail the rat had been released by one Florence sister, he was scooped up by the other and carried back to her secluded room.

'You're in good company,' Brynja said as soon as they were closed in. The rat, sitting on the floor, looked disdainfully away. 'You may as well shape-shift. Our Lord has given us all your description. He said you would be sent out on your own tasks as soon as possible, though for all of me I can't imagine why he has sent you here, when you've already proven your incompetence in this direction.'

Wormtail metamorphosed. From the rat there grew a man, a man who was still partly rat, at least in appearance. He looked no better than when Harry Potter and his friends had first seen him; he was still unkempt, perhaps balder than before, his remaining wisps of hair a dull grey. The skin of his face looked stretched taut over his skull, and his eyes squinted against the light.

'Peter Pettigrew,' said Brynja, stretching lazily. 'So I _was_ right.'

'Who are you?' Peter squeaked.

'Brynja Florence. Do you know that name?'

'I do. You're supposed to be watching the Potter boy. But that's not what you're doing, is it?' Wormtail raised his right hand -- the one that had been replaced by Voldemort the previous year. Brynja winced, then screamed as a searing pain burst through her Dark Mark. 'You're here to help Our Lord, not fulfill some personal vengeance!' He no longer seemed quite so ratlike. His voice was thunder and lightning.

'Please! Let me explain!'

Wormtail lowered his hand. 'All right,' he said in his normal voice. 'But it had better be good, Florence. Or we'll see how well _you_ cast spells one-handed.'

Brynja, no longer quite as confident, launched stutteringly into her plans... to be in Norway when the school group travelled there, and to simply make Harry Potter disappear from that group. Norway was a dangerous place, she said, and her island full of glaciers where an inquisitive boy might slip to his doom in an icy crevasse. Or perhaps a tumble from the back of a skittish dragon. There were spells that could accomplish such things. She had learned much about dragon-handling.

'Speaking of which, have you any idea what happened to your sister's dragon?'

Brynja lifted her chin and stared directly at him -- she was perched on the edge of her bed, while he was standing. 'Of course I do. Dragons are powerful creatures -- better to have them on our side when the final battle begins than on the other, wouldn't you agree? There were three eggs in Duffy's clutch. One of them has been delivered to Kelsey. The other two, and their mother... safe.'

'Why give the egg to the child?' Wormtail asked.

'Because it will be the only one she has left when the world comes under Our Lord's dominion. It will still be only a baby, of no use to anyone. Besides...' and here Brynja's eyes glinted with a long-ago loathing, 'she was always the one to get the dragon, not I.'

* * *

The rest of January passed swiftly and normally (well, what passed for normal at Hogwarts). There were no more deliveries of dragon's eggs or anything else strange to the Ravenclaw table, nobody exploded anything during Potions, and the fifth-year students began doing more and more homework. This delighted Hermione, but the others weren't quite so sure about it.

At the beginning of February, Dumbledore sent permission forms home to the parents of all forty fifth-year students, asking permission for their sons or daughters to travel to Norway for the week beginning on the tenth of March, in order to participate in research and practical work involving dragons. The covering letters assured the parents that the students would be well accompanied -- Severus Snape, Bianca Firenze, and Hagrid would be there, as well as Kelsey's parents Davyn and Freya.

One morning not long after the letters had begun to be sent back, Harry and Hermione found Neville sitting, downcast, in the Gryffindor common room.

'What's the matter, Neville?' Hermione asked.

'My grandmother says she's not sure about me going to Norway. She's worried I'll get myself into trouble.' Neville folded the piece of parchment he was holding. 'I guess I'll just have to stay here and study for a week instead.'

'Nonsense,' Hermione said firmly. 'You _have_ to come. Have you asked Dumbledore?'

'No. I'm sure he'll say no.'

'Come on, you should ask him,' Harry said. 'Ask him to talk to her. Dumbledore could sell refrigerators to Eskimos, he should be able to talk your Gran into letting you go away for a week.'

They made their way through the halls to the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. The Headmaster had recently had a small magical intercom installed -- it was actually a very small owl that, when confronted with a visitor, would fly a message up to the wizard. Hermione -- who always carried parchment and pen -- dashed off a quick note, and sent the owl flying into the darkness.

Moments later the wall opened and Dumbledore himself was standing there, breathing heavily, hectic patches of red on his face -- clearly he had run all the way down to them.

'Please, come up, All of you,' he said, urging them onto the stairway.

As they moved upwards, Harry suddenly remembered that he had not yet heard whether he was going to be allowed to go on the trip to Norway. He groaned under his breath. There was no way that the Dursleys would let him go anywhere as exciting as Norway. Still... maybe Dumbledore had asked permission from Sirius, somehow. Harry's heart lightened at the thought and he bounded up the rest of the stairs eagerly.

Waiting for them in the office was an elderly woman. Neville ran to her and hugged her, and she stroked his hair and glared at Harry and Hermione.

'You two've been trying to lead my boy off into wild places I suppose... I know you, Harry Potter, you're at the centre of every bit o' trouble my Neville gets himself into! What's all this about draggin' him to Norway, now... he'll get lost, or fall down a glacier, or something of the sort!'

'Mrs. Longbottom, I assure you that no harm will come to Neville. He will be under the care of our most experienced teachers, as well as the dragon trainers of the area, who know how to navigate the region without danger,' Dumbledore said. 'In addition, Harry will be on the excursion, which virtually guarantees that any danger directed at the party will be borne by him.' He winked. 'Only joking, of course!'

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance -- it hadn't sounded as if he was joking. Dumbledore looked at them and they hastily backed him up.

After a few more minutes of this sort of thing, Mrs. Longbottom seemed to be appeased. Dumbledore supplied her with a quill with which to sign the permission form, and she squiggled a rather loopy signature. Neville twisted his hands together and grinned widely.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you!'

'Hush now, young 'un. I want to talk to you about this in private.' She hustled him out of the doorway and down onto the stairs.

'Harry, come on,' Hermione said. 'Thank you, Professor Dumbledore.'

'Thank _you_ two for coming up and pleading Neville's case. His grandmother is right to worry about his safety, of course... but I am certain that nothing harmful will happen on this excursion. You may go now.'

Harry hung back. 'Hermione, I need to talk to him for a sec,' he whispered. Hermione gave him a strange look, but stepped out of the door and onto the staircase, which bore her downwards, without asking any questions.

'Yes, Harry?'

'I'm worried about Kelsey,' Harry blurted out. He hadn't known until this very moment that he wanted to tell Dumbledore, but he found himself spilling everything -- Kelsey's wand going missing, the egg turning up, and Kelsey's assertion that she knew where her sister was. 'You see,' he concluded, 'I think she's too young to handle this alone. She needs help.'

'Kelsey Florence has survived without a voice since the age of three. She has been brought up surrounded by magic and has learnt it to a fifth-year level well before the usual age for such students. I have every faith in her that she will be able to handle her sister, if -- and I do mean _if_ \-- her knowledge regarding her whereabouts is correct.' Dumbledore smiled. 'Kelsey is extremely resourceful and I'm sure she can hold her own. If she ever needs help, I am right here.'

'Do _you_ know where Brynja Florence is, sir?' Harry asked.

'I have been trying for a year and a half, since I first agreed that I would allow Kelsey into the school, to find Brynja. Thus far, I have not succeeded. She has vanished entirely, perhaps even died. I doubt,' said Dumbledore, 'that Kelsey is even right about knowing where she is. However, if Kelsey chooses to tell me where she believes her sister to be, then I will investigate immediately. But I will not set out to discover what she thinks she knows. As I said, I believe that Kelsey can take care of herself.'

It was a strange attitude, coming from Dumbledore. Had things been different, Harry was sure that Dumbledore would be calling Kelsey in immediately to ask her what was going on. But Harry was still remembering the events of the previous year, and understood why Dumbledore was taking no action... he was simply too busy. The desk was piled high with letters, and an owl swooped through the window bearing another even as Harry stood there. Dumbledore had many things to worry about right at that moment, and Kelsey's long-lost sister was probably the least of them.

As Dumbledore reached for the letter the owl had brought and picked up a silver letter-opener with his other hand, Harry could see the new lines on the Headmaster's face.

'Sir, if there's anything... anything that I can do...' he said tentatively.

Dumbledore looked up and smiled. 'Certainly, Harry... you can go down and have your breakfast. And I believe you know where the kitchens are... if you wouldn't mind going down and asking Dobby to bring _my_ breakfast up, I'd be most obliged.'

'Yes, sir,' Harry said, going out. It wasn't quite what he had meant, but nonetheless, it was something he could do to help.

* * *

With the excitement of the impending visit to Norway, the Gryffindor fifth-years were understandably not thinking too much about the upcoming O.W.L.s (except for Hermione, of course). So when Professor Trelawney announced a new topic in Divination -- Tarot cards -- and added that they would be the subject of some of the O.W.L. questions, even Lavender and Parvati groaned with discontent. This meant that a whole new way to fake results had to be found -- by Harry and Ron, at least.

They had climbed the ladder to the stuffy, incense-smelling room with their usual mixed feelings about the class -- Ron assuming it would be boring as usual, and Harry half hoping that Trelawney would come up with a real prediction again. But when they'd seen the decks of cards at every place, they knew something was different.

'What's all this rubbish?' Ron whispered.

'Maybe she's going to let us play poker,' Harry had muttered back.

But Professor Trelawney had no such intentions. Once everyone had arrived, she turned away from the fire (into which she had been staring, melodramatically sighing once in a while), and began explaining the mysteries of the Tarot. She handed out flimsy booklets that listed the meanings of each card, telling the class that while the exam would be open book, she would be looking for a _deeper_ and more _meaningful_ interpretation of the cards' messages. There was an outline of a basic Tarot layout with a diagram of which card went where and meant what.

'Now, you must be _respectful_ when you open your cards for the first time,' Professor Trelawney said. 'The cards are _very_ responsive to those who treat them with _proper respect_.'

'Is she glaring at me?' Ron said under his breath.

'I think she's just cross-eyed,' Harry said. Ron snorted. Lavender glared at him, then went back to looking respectfully at her pack of cards.

'All right, Gryffindors, you may open your cards.'

Harry opened his, ignoring the fact that the shiny cellophane wrapping had obviously been opened before and taped back in place.

'The cards you are holding are the classic Rider-Waite deck. If you decide the cards hold a particular interest for you, you might like to find a deck that suits you better -- there are many customised decks available at Fortuna's Future Franchise in Hogsmeade.' Harry had the feeling that Professor Trelawney spent a lot of time in that particular shop.

'What do we do?' Parvati asked.

'Shuffle your cards until they feel right, dear, and then deal them out in the Celtic layout from page five of your booklets.' Trelawney clicked her tongue as Neville inadvertently dealt a game of seventy-eight-pickup instead, and helped him gather his cards back together.

Harry laid his cards out. Ron was still shuffling.

'Ron...'

'They just don't feel _right_, Harry. I'm not getting any mystical vibes.'

'_Ron_.'

'All right, all right.' Ron stopped shuffling and laid each card down with a snap. Lavender and Parvati were already exclaiming over something or other at their table, and Trelawney was hovering over them, watching. 'D'you think it'll be any easier with the book to consult, Harry?'

Harry turned his first card up. 'No,' he said when he'd found it. 'The definition's only a few words long. We're supposed to be able to make a real prediction.'

Ron left his cards for the moment and looked at Harry's. 'The seven of cups -- what's that mean?'

'Er -- confusion,' Harry said. 'And it's meant to represent my current situation.' He tapped the card idly. 'I think it's right -- I'm confused as to how I can draw a whole prediction out of one word.'

'You must weave the meanings of _all_ the cards together,' Trelawney interrupted. She gave Ron an Eye that seemed more Evil than Inner. 'Dear boy, why aren't you attending to _your_ cards?'

'I... I thought Harry might benefit by a... er... unbiased mind,' Ron said. 'You know, he might read these cards the way he wants to see them, when they might mean something else.' Trelawney looked pleased and went to bother Neville and Seamus instead.

'How'd you come up with that?' Harry said.

Ron held up his booklet. 'It's got a bit in the front about positive and negative influences on the reading.'

'I bet using a recycled deck's one of the negative ones.' Harry moved on to the next card. 'Number two -- this one means immediate influence -- and it's Temperance. And it's upside down. That means that it means the opposite.'

Ron flicked through the booklet. 'Oooh, Harry, you're stuck in the past. Well, that's hardly a surprise.'

'My dear, it means that something from his _past_ is going to haunt poor Mr. Potter...' Trelawney sighed dramatically. Parvati was looking at them with interest from across the room, and Harry hastily turned over the next card to avoid any more attention.

'My goal or destiny... look it up, Ron, it's the three of coins...'

'Learning new skills,' Ron read. 'Well you are, aren't you? You're learning how to read Tarot cards.' Trelawney, still standing by their table, smiled mistily, as if well pleased by this demonstration of her students' abilities.

'Perhaps use of these skills features in your destiny, my dear...' It was fortunate that she was staring heavenward, or she might've seen the look of amused exasperation that passed from Harry to Ron.

'Professor Trelawney, I've got Death!' Neville called out suddenly from his table. He winked at Harry, who grinned back. Sometimes Neville had just the right sense of timing, he thought as Trelawney flapped across the room to explain kindly to Neville that no, he was _not_ going to die.

'What's next?' Ron asked.

Harry checked. 'The knight of swords. It represents the distant past, stuff that happened to influence the events of today.' Even without reading the interpretation -- and it was easier with two, one to look at the layout and one to find the card in the booklet -- he didn't like the sound of it. The picture was normal enough, but he had the nasty feeling it might... _move_, or something, any minute.

'It means that the balance of power is in your favour.' Ron looked up and saw Harry's face. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' Harry said, relaxing. 'I just thought it was going to be something bad.'

'Swords... well, yeah. I think it means...' Ron lowered his voice, '...something about You-Know-Who.'

'Probably,' Harry said. 'I mean, things went my way, didn't they?' He thought of Godric Gryffindor's sword, then, and the card suddenly didn't seem so oddly threatening. 'Okay, the next one means the _recent_ past.' He turned it over. 'Four of cups.'

'Reaching out for new friendships.' Their eyes met and both said, 'Kelsey!' at the same moment, and laughed. 'That one was easy,' Harry commented.

'Are you asking it something in particular?' Ron said.

'Not really. Was I meant to?' Harry said.

'Never mind. What's the next card?'

'Future influences.' Harry shook his head. 'That was predictable.'

'You're a Diviner already,' Ron said, grinning. Harry just sighed and turned the card over.

'_Three_ of cups. Lots of cups. Maybe I'm going to drink a lot of pumpkin juice. Wait, it's upside down again.'

'_Reversed_, Harry, _reversed_. Get your Tarot terminology right.' Ron moved out of the way as Harry swung a friendly punch at his shoulder, and read from the booklet. 'Normally it means a reunion with friends, but maybe reversed it means... I don't know, a reunion with enemies?'

'Oh, wonderful.'

Trelawney swooped in again. 'How is it coming along, my dears?' She swiftly scrutinised the cards. 'Ah, yes, I see... you're confused, my dear, perhaps something from the past is helping to baffle you... but you have power and friends on your side, and you will learn something new very soon... perhaps an important discovery.' She looked at the last card they had turned over. 'Reversed... tut, tut.' She clicked her tongue. 'My dear, someone important is going to come into your life, someone from the past... highly likely to be dangerous.'

'You-Know-Who!' Lavender gasped. Harry looked up. Most of the class was gathered around them, their own cards forgotten. The exception was Neville, who was trying to get his cards back into their box without spilling them.

'_Do_ continue,' Professor Trelawney said, staring at Harry with avid interest. Harry's hands began to shake as he turned the next card over. Surely... surely this couldn't be right, could it? They were just little pieces of card with pictures on them, they didn't _mean_ anything...

'The questioner. This one means me, Ron.' He kept his voice steady, trying to ignore the onlookers. 'And it's the page of wands.'

'Learning and travelling,' Ron said. 'Easy. Learning, here, and travelling to Norway and learning there as well. It's just you, Harry.' The unspoken question, _Are you all right?_ hung in the air between them, and Harry nodded slightly before turning to the next card.

'It's about my effect on others, this time. The card's the ten of swords, and it's upside- I mean, reversed.'

'Reversed, this card means that... my dear boy, you have great influence over other people. Your fame... the deeds you perform... many people know about them and are guided by them.' Trelawney looked even mistier than usual.

Lavender sighed. 'It's all so _heroic_,' she said. Parvati elbowed her -- apparently she hadn't yet forgiven Harry for the Yule Ball.

'The ninth card represents your inner emotions, dear boy... please do continue!'

Harry turned this one over reluctantly, not really wanting the whole class to know his inner feelings. It was the High Priestess, which took Ron a moment to find -- it was one of the Major Arcana, the really important cards.

'This one means to follow your own intuition,' Ron said. Trelawney nodded enthusiastically, this time not adding her own interpretation. 'I guess that means trust your emotions.'

'And the last card?' Lavender asked. 'This one's the really important one, Harry -- it talks about the whole situation at the moment.' Everyone was crowded around now, staring.

Harry turned the card over.

'The Fool,' he said. Whatever explanation Ron might have been about to give was lost in a babble of laughter. Only the expression on Trelawney's face made Harry think there was anything serious about it.

'You must beware your past, my dear,' she said solemnly. 'Or I fear it might hold trouble for you... great danger, also.'

Harry wished he could dismiss this particular prediction as so much rubbish like the rest.


	11. Norway Nights

The time had passed slowly and uneventfully until March, but now the fifth-years -- along with their escorts Snape, Hagrid, and Professor Firenze, who was coming along to make up the needed teacher numbers -- were in a circle on the Hogsmeade town common. Their last escort was Shenea, who had begged to be included at the last minute. Madam Pince had excused her, seeing as the fifth-years wouldn't be using the library for their O.W.L. study until they got back and therefore the library wouldn't be nearly as full.

'Everyone holding hands? Good! You will please not let go hands until we say,' Professor Firenze instructed.

Harry, who had had the misfortune to end up holding hands with Draco Malfoy, grimaced. But this was nothing compared to the look on Malfoy's face -- he looked ready to be sick. Ron and Hermione, on Harry's other side, gave him two sympathetic looks, and Harry grinned.

'All righ', everyone -- don' let go from now on, or yeh likely to get left behin',' Hagrid said. 'All righ', Harry?'

Harry nodded. 'Let's just go,' he said.

Over the other side of the tightly clustered circle, Snape was moving around, making sure that everyone was holding hands. Hagrid winked at Harry, then stepped in between him and Malfoy, enclosing Harry's hand in one of his and taking Malfoy's in the other. Professor Firenze stood with Lavender and Parvati, and Snape was on the other side of the circle, between Kelsey and Terry Boot, another Ravenclaw fifth-year.

There were a few Hogsmeade locals looking at them curiously as they stood on the town common, and Harry wished they could just hurry up and Disapparate. It had been bad enough walking down from the castle on a full stomach -- they'd just had dinner -- and being stared at was making things worse. But they couldn't Disapparate from Hogwarts, and this was the second-best option.

'Everybody ready?' Snape asked. 'Potter, make sure you're hanging onto Hagrid -- we wouldn't want _you_ getting left behind, of course.'

Malfoy laughed, but the sound was cut off by a yelp of pain. Harry wasn't sure quite what had happened, but it seemed that Hagrid had done something to Malfoy's hand. Harry grinned -- even if the Slytherins were planning something sneaky, which he wasn't entirely sure they were, having Hagrid around made him feel a lot better.

Professor Firenze made a last head count and nodded to Snape. The two of them began chanting. Hermione was whispering excitedly about wandless magic, but her words were cut off as the entire circle felt a simultaneous pull in the region of their navels. Then, as the few Hogsmeade gawkers watched, the entire fifth-year Hogwarts class vanished.

* * *

Everyone's first, and very loud, reaction upon their arrival was to the snow. Most people weren't dressed warmly enough, despite the copious warnings before their departure. A few people had fallen over as soon as they landed -- it was a rather hard landing, despite the snow.

Harry, however, kept his feet and looked around, ignoring the complaints from the others. He was cold, but the cold didn't seem to matter as soon as he saw the view.

The whiteness around him was like nothing he'd ever seen before, not even when it snowed at Hogwarts. It was sheer and dazzling and he understood why they'd been made to wear snow goggles. The only thing that broke the whiteness was the green of the few trees here and there, and the black line of a fence -- a very high fence. Harry turned around, following the fenceline with his eyes, and saw the house.

Like the snow, the house was white. It was tall -- at least three storeys -- and had a huge front door and wide windows. In fact, it was built on such a grand scale that if buildings were related, it might have been one of Hogwarts' children.

'Wow,' said Hermione, beside Harry. She was all bundled up in a cherry-red snowsuit and mittens. 'It's _huge_!'

'Yeah,' Harry said. 'It looks like a giant lives there, or something.'

The front door opened, and Kelsey pulled away from Snape and went pelting over the snow towards the two people coming out.

'Look at her, running to Mummy and Daddy!' Malfoy snickered. Hermione glared at him, then threw a snowball at him. When Malfoy turned around to see who'd done it, Hermione was on the other side of Hagrid, looking innocent.

The two people who'd come out of the house shared a brief embrace with Kelsey, and then came down to the group.

'Welcome to Norway,' Kelsey's father said. 'I am Davyn Florence, and this is my wife Freya. You may call us Davyn and Freya, though. We don't insist on formality here. Before anything else, we would like to thank you for the care and support you have shown our daughter.' Kelsey went red. 'She has clearly flourished at Hogwarts.' Malfoy opened his mouth to make another smart remark, and Harry stepped on his foot. Kelsey winked at him.

'Thank you, Mr. Florence,' Snape said, looking almost nice for once as he stepped forward to shake Davyn's hand. Professor Firenze followed suit, and then Hagrid seized Davyn's hand in his, pumping it happily, as he reminded Davyn about the conference they'd attended together.

'If Hagrid keeps on like this, Davyn's never going to get a word out to us,' Ron said to Harry, who grinned and nodded.

Eventually, they were led up to the house, which was big enough for them all to stay in. Kelsey disappeared off to her own bedroom with Kyla, whom she'd asked to share with her during their stay. Harry and Ron were shown to a bedroom near the front of the house, on the third floor, which had an excellent view out over the mountains of the Lofoten Islands. Neville, Dean and Seamus joined them -- the rooms weren't quite big enough for them all, but they didn't need a lot of room for just a week.

'It's so cool here,' Dean said, pressing his hands against the window pane. 'When d'you think we'll get to see a dragon?'

'Tomorrow morning,' said Ron. 'We'll make toast on their breath.'

'If you like charcoaled toast,' Harry said.

They changed into their pyjamas, found the bathroom with a minimum of difficulty, and were in bed not much later. Hermione had been boring everyone for a week about time zones and directions of travel, but the end result was that they'd left Hogsmeade at eleven o'clock at night and it was now midnight -- or rather, with the time they'd taken finding their room and getting to bed, one o'clock in the morning. The difference really wasn't all that great after all. But, thought Harry as he settled down to sleep, the difference between Hogwarts and Norway was a lot more than just distance and time.

* * *

'Mr Florence has been authorised to award points to your Houses for correct answers to his questions,' Snape said as the four groups of fifth-years gathered together in the courtyard outside the stables the next morning, after a huge breakfast. 'I believe he met some of you last night, and so already knows your House names. I am trusting you all to behave yourself and not get bored or wander off while Mr Florence is speaking to you. Be respectful.' There was a look on his face the whole time he was saying this that indicated he didn't believe most of them capable of such a thing.

The nearest stable door -- which was at least twenty feet high -- banged open, and Davyn strode out, eyes twinkling. He was a tall man, his face bearded, and however old he was, he looked only thirty. Kelsey raced forward and threw herself on her father.

'Hello, baby,' Davyn said, nuzzling the top of her head before setting her down. His blue eyes glimmered with excitement, and his silvered blond hair was standing on end, slightly scorched. Evidently he had just been tending to one of his charges.

'Welcome to Florence's Dragon Stables,' he said to the group, who applauded. 'I hope you have an exciting and informative week here with us. Over the time you are here, we will be studying many aspects of dragons' behaviour, and I can tell you now that if you behave, you will be allowed to ride one.' An excited murmur started at this, and Davyn held one hand up for silence.

'I'm going to begin now with some basics about dragons, and a few questions for House points,' he said. 'I think your Professor has already told you that, though?' He looked over at Snape, who was standing to the left of the group. Hagrid was on the right, and Professor Firenze was somewhere at the back. Shenea, of course, was busy finding a place to lie in the sunshine -- it was very cold.

'That's right,' Snape said. And smiled. It was amazing the effect that being out of his dungeon seemed to be having on him.

'There are ten basic breeds of dragon listed in your textbooks, I believe?' Davyn looked around at the gathered students, most of whom immediately made a dive for their bags.

Hermione, who already had her book out, called out 'Yes, sir!' Harry shook his head. Trust Hermione to know.

Davyn nodded. 'The Antipodean Opaleye, the Chinese Fireball, and eight others, including the Norwegian Ridgeback, which is one of three breeds we specialise in here at the farm. The other two are Swedish Short-Snouts, another Scandinavian breed, and the cross-bred Scandinavian Blues. Now, who can guess which two types of dragon we cross-bred to get the Blues?'

Kelsey, perched cross-legged on a rock, raised her hand solemnly, and everyone laughed. Davyn smiled through his silvery beard. 'Thank you, Kelsey, but I think we'll let someone who hasn't actually lived with them all her life answer.'

Hermione's hand shot into the air. 'The Swedish Short-Snout,' she said. 'They're blue.'

Davyn nodded in acknowledgment. 'Well done. Five points to Gryffindor. Who can tell me the other breed?'

'Norwegian Ridgeback?' Lavender guessed.

'No, but good try. You would expect it to be the Ridgeback because they are our other native Scandinavian breed, but attempts at cross-breeding between the two have, this far, been unsuccessful. Anyone else?'

To a few people's surprise, Neville was the next to guess. 'Peruvian Vipertooth,' he said, which provoked a nasty laugh from Malfoy.

'Really, Longbottom, as if,' he said in a low voice.

Davyn didn't immediately tell Neville he was wrong, however. Instead, he raised one bushy eyebrow and asked, 'What makes you say that?'

'Um... because the Swedish Short-Snouts are big dragons, but in comparison the Scandinavian Blues are little. So I guessed... because the Vipertooths are small...' Neville's explanation was a little confused, but Davyn understood.

'Which Hogwarts House are you in?' he asked.

'G-Gryffindor,' Neville said.

'Then you're a credit to the Gryffindors. I'm going to give you ten points, if I may. Your answer was spot on.' At this Neville went a brilliant red, and Hermione patted him on the back.

'Yes, everyone, our Gryffindor lad here has it right -- though we can't keep the Vipertooths here on the farm, because of the climate. We have a midpoint between here and Peru for the actual breeding, and then bring the mother back here to hatch the eggs.' Davyn gestured at the stable door. 'We have three breeding females here, but unfortunately one of them has gone missing. We're assuming for the moment that she's gone to find some secret place in the mountains to have her babies -- dragons like privacy, sometimes, just like cats.'

'Too right,' said Shenea from her place atop Hagrid's head.

'Why are you breeding them here?' Neville asked.

'Why, because the survival rate is higher than if they breed in the wild, and we don't want our dragons to die out. Because this is a breeding year, we'll try not to disturb the mother dragons too much. They're in the small stable behind this one. But we _will_ be seeing one of our Blues to begin with, and that's Danny, who belongs to Kelsey here.' Davyn smiled at his daughter. 'Kelse, would you go bring him out?' He lowered his voice for the next part, but most of the group heard it anyway: 'Make sure he's wearing the dampener muzzle.'

Kelsey jumped off her rock and ran into the stable. Harry heard her calling something out in Dragon's Dialect, and then the heavy footsteps of something very large. Ron, beside him, let out a yelp -- Hermione, overexcited, had squeezed his hand a little too hard.

A giant snout covered in some kind of fabric appeared through the stable door, and Kelsey skipped under, out of its way, the end of a very fine silver cord in her hand. A pair of big eyes... one clawed foot... then, with an excited rush, Danny emerged into the sunlight.

Compared to some species of dragon, as Davyn had said, the Scandinavian Blues were small, but given that 'small' in this case meant 'twenty feet long', Danny was very impressive, especially since most of the students had never been quite so close to a dragon as Harry had been during the first Triwizard Tournament task. Quite a few people instinctively took a step back. Kelsey, standing directly beside the huge head, looked utterly unconcerned.

'I'd like to introduce you all to Danny,' Davyn said. There was a smattering of applause, but most people were frozen. 'Is everything alright?'

'Big!' squeaked Parvati.

'C-can he still breathe fire?' quavered Lavender, who was hiding behind Hagrid.

'He's wearing a special sort of muzzle that damps down his flame. It might not look like much, but it's woven with over a dozen charms and spells to protect us.' Davyn went to Lavender and gently took her hand in his. 'What's your name, love?'

'Lavender.'

'Come and talk to Danny, won't you? You're a big brave Gryffindor, right? Dragons are naturally shy of humans. Danny's not going to hurt anyone.' With only a little more coaxing, Davyn persuaded Lavender out from behind Hagrid, and a moment later she was standing next to Kelsey, who still held the lead rope.

'Go on, touch his skin. Feel those scales? What do they feel like?' Davyn asked.

'They're smooth,' Lavender said, her hand trembling as she gingerly ran her fingertips over Danny's blue, opalescent scales.

'Why do you think they might be smooth?'

'They're more aerodynamic,' said Hermione, who, Harry could see, was clearly eager to get closer to the dragon. 'Rougher scales make the dragons fly slower.' Davyn smiled at her and gestured her closer, and Hermione almost ran up to the dragon. Harry saw Kelsey giggle.

The question and answer session went on, the group's knowledge of dragons being tested to the limit, and eventually everyone had had a turn at talking to Danny, stroking the smooth scales, and looking at the muzzle and lead rope -- Davyn charmed these last to show the myriad spells that were woven into the material, writhing and crawling over one another. Danny didn't really seem to need the protection, though -- the entire time he was being patted and touched and exclaimed over, he didn't even growl. Kelsey stood patiently, holding the rope with one hand and answering questions with her wand -- Harry could see the blue shimmer that built up from lots of talking.

'We're going to start on something a little different now,' Davyn said presently. 'I know you've come here to learn about dragons from the ground up -- what they are as magical creatures and the use they have to the wizarding world, correct?' There was a definite twinkle in his eye, and Harry saw Kelsey roll her eyes.

'Yes,' said Hermione.

'Well, then, we're going to begin with a day on how to care for dragons.' Davyn gestured to a smaller building. 'That's the storage shed. There should be enough pitchforks for everyone, and gloves, and if you pair off there should be a wheelbarrow for each pair. We're going to start with muck raking.'

* * *

Three hours of muck raking later, the stables were clear. Kelsey had been everywhere at once, moving the dragons out of the way, moving them back into the stalls, and -- somehow -- managing to avoid actually doing any raking herself.

'Any profession in life combines the good with the bad,' Davyn said when the students reassembled, sweating and smelly, outside the stables. 'It's time to shower and then discover one of the better things about this job.'

Everything about the Florence house was huge and accommodating. The shower cubicles, unlike the changing cubicles Harry knew from his few miserable years at public school, were big enough that the bench for his clothes was out of the shower's spray range, and the towels hanging on the back of the doors were large and fluffy. Harry and the other Gryffindor boys showered quickly, all eager to find out what Davyn had in store for them next.

The group gathered once more outside the stables. There were three large buildings to house the dragons, but they had only seen the interior of two of them -- the third was closed and the door barred. It was the smallest of the three buildings. Now, as soon as everyone was gathered, Davyn led them towards this last building.

'This is our mothering building,' he said. 'I would like you to be very quiet when you come in here, as nesting mother dragons can become very violent if provoked. The building is spelled to prevent attacks, but too much magic in the air might harm the babies, so there is only so much we can do. I'll take Gryffindor House through first. The rest of you, please be patient.'

The Gryffindors moved forward, Hagrid with them. Davyn lifted the bar off the door and set it aside, then opened the door a crack. A rush of hot steam and smoke roiled out.

'It's very hot in here, because the mothers need to keep their eggs extremely warm,' he whispered. 'If the heat makes you feel faint, come back outside.' He opened the door a little further and ushered Hagrid in first, then the students. Harry was close to the front, nudged there by Lavender and Parvati, who were still rather nervous.

There were four stalls in this stable, all bigger than the others. The two furthest from the door were occupied, one by a Swedish Short-Snout, one by a Norwegian Ridgeback. Harry's glasses steamed up immediately, and he took them off, squinting instead.

Both of the dragons were curled around clutches of eggs very like the ones Harry remembered from the Triwizard Tournament, but black instead of cement-coloured. The Norwegian Ridgeback was asleep, but the Swedish Short-Snout lifted her head and blew smoke when she noticed her company. She looked friendly enough, though, insofar as a dragon could be said to look friendly.

'Erika here has been guarding these eggs for quite a while now. In fact, they're due to hatch any day now,' Davyn said. 'We're hoping that all five survive. The average survival rate for dragons is sadly not as high as it might be, but Erika is a good mother and most of her babies are alive and well. We release them into the wild as soon as it's safe to do so.'

'Do they become domesticated because of their contact with people?' Hermione asked.

'No. In fact, when Erika and Astrid -- that's the Ridgeback -- aren't breeding, they don't even live here. The only reason any of our dragons are here is because they know the stables are safe for them. The males don't stay either. The only dragons who are always here are the Scandinavian Blues, because they don't have a natural home to return to, being born and raised here.'

'Do they mind that?' Hermione asked.

'Not in the least. I think Danny prefers it here, and Duffy, who's gone off into the mountains -- well, she almost never leaves Kelsey's side, when she's at home at least.'

Erika lifted her head and gave a low growl. Davyn looked down, startled, then ran to the door. 'Kelse? Kelsey!' Kelsey came running in. 'Come here for a minute.' Kelsey went to the dragon's stall, looked down at her, and growled a question in Dragon's Dialect. Erika growled back.

'What's going on?' Harry asked.

_Erika's eggs are about to hatch_, Kelsey said. _Daddy, should everyone leave?_

Davyn looked down at Erika, who seemed quite complacent except for the occasional growl, and shook his head. 'If everyone moves back into that stall by the door, you should be able to see what's happening and not be in the way. Someone call the rest of the kids in... you'll all want to see this.'

Hagrid almost leapt forward in his excitement. 'I 'ad a dragon once,' he said. ''Is name were Norbert... I can help yer!'

'Of course,' Davyn said, 'but for the most part, no help will be needed.' He raised a hand to quiet the rest of the fifth-years, who were crowding into the stable. 'Erika and her babies will be perfectly capable of doing this alone. Just keep very quiet, everyone, and watch.' He put an arm around his daughter, and a hush finally crept over the stable -- even Astrid, neglected and ignored in the other stall, seemed to be waiting with bated breath for the births.

* * *

It took a while. Harry's memory of Norbert hatching, back in first year, was patchy. He did seem to recall that it took some time. But Erika was intent on helping her babies, and one by one she scored the shells of the eggs with her claws, not quite breaking through the shell, but making it thinner.

The eggs rocked on the floor of the stall, bumping against the piles of straw used to keep them warm. Earlier, Davyn had explained that although straw was flammable, it was the best option for bedding, being soft and easy to obtain. The solution to the flammability was yet another charm. If Davyn used the same spell to reveal magic all over the place as he had used on Danny's muzzle and lead, Harry thought the whole stable would probably light up.

Suddenly, and quite surprisingly after the long wait, two of the eggs cracked open simultaneously. Everyone let out a gasp -- even Malfoy was leaning over to get a better look and had a wide-eyed expression on his face.

The two baby dragons were covered in albumen from inside the eggs, but stretched out their wings and opened their tiny mouths, already trying to flame the world. Erika's long tongue came out and touched them each on the top of the head, and they rolled and tumbled towards her, settling by her side. Even as they made their stumbling way to safety, a third egg was hatching, and then the fourth. All four of the baby dragons curled against their mother, who exhaled a long, warm breath over them, drying the slime from their scales and wings.

The fifth egg was moving, but slowly, and as the class watched it stopped moving.

'Oh no...' Hermione said softly.

'Is it dead?' Lavender asked.

Kelsey ducked away from her father's arm and climbed the low stone wall into the stall. Erika looked up at her, but Kelsey growled a few words and Erika lowered her head again, making noises at the babies. Kelsey knelt and took hold of the egg, wincing -- it was probably quite hot, since dragons breathed on their eggs to keep them warm.

'Go on then, Kelse,' Davyn said, and Kelsey pulled at the edges of the thin crack that had appeared in the shell. Slowly, slowly, the shell split open. Finally, the two halves lay on the straw, and the fifth baby dragon lay between them.

'Is it dead?' Lavender said again.

Kelsey lifted the dragon and held it out towards Erika, closing her eyes and turning her head away. Erika paused -- Kelsey said something in Dragon's Dialect -- and Erika exhaled over Kelsey's hands, the heat shimmer over the baby dragon clearly visible even from as far away as Harry was. The dragon in Kelsey's hands kicked and squirmed, and its eyes opened, drawing a soft cheer from a few people. Kelsey tucked the baby in beside its brothers and sisters, then backed away, only turning her back on the dragons to go out of the door. Harry noticed that she used her hands very little.

'You'd better go up and see your mother, Kelse,' Davyn said, examining the girl's hands. Kelsey winced and nodded. 'And the rest of you, it's probably lunchtime. We'll leave Erika and her babies alone for a while, and come back later on to see how they are.'


	12. Relentless Rivals

Harry woke up early the next morning to brilliant white sunlight streaming through the window. He yawned, rolled over, and almost fell out of bed when he saw what was outside the window.

_Hi, Harry. Hope I didn't wake you!_ The words floated through the window. Kelsey was outside the window, on Danny's back. The dragon wasn't wearing his muzzle this time, but he looked harmless enough, and if Kelsey was unafraid it must be all right. Harry fumbled for his glasses, putting them on in time to read Kelsey's next words without needing to squint. _Do you want to come for a real ride?_

Ron and the others were still asleep; Harry got out of bed as quietly as he could and pulled on his robes over his pyjamas. Danny hovered outside the window, occasionally snorting out a puff of smoke. Kelsey waited until Harry was on the windowsill, shivering in the chill morning air, then urged Danny closer. It was amazing how she did it -- to communicate with Danny, she didn't even need Dragon's Dialect. No doubt they shared a close bond, considering what had happened.

Kelsey held out her hand and nodded down at Harry's feet, then at Danny's side. Harry saw a ridged row of scales he might use as a foothold -- he stepped out, grasping at Kelsey's hand -- and then he was astride the great dragon as much as was possible, clinging on behind Kelsey, who let go his hand and returned her attention to the thin silver cord around Danny's neck.

_I don't really need the lead rope to guide Danny, but it helps, just in case I have a particular destination in mind. Are you warm enough?_

'Yes,' Harry said, teeth chattering. Kelsey turned her head long enough to roll her eyes at him, then flicked her wand and cast a Warming Charm around him. She must have had the same around herself, since she wore school robes just like him and wasn't shivering.

_Right, let's go._

Danny began to beat his wings harder, pushing away from the window. Seen from above, the Florence home was a rambling manor, several wings added on as haphazardly as those at the Burrow, although much larger and more ornate here.

_This house has been in the family a long time, and each generation has added more and more rooms. We don't use it all. Someday, I would like to open more of it and use it to its full potential._

'What would you do, house your Quidditch team here?' Harry asked.

Kelsey giggled. It didn't sound like a giggle, of course -- it sounded like just another kind of growl -- but it was clear what she was doing. _No. Quidditch would be fun, but that's just my dream. My_ wish_, on the other hand, which has a lot more chance of coming true, involves the house. It houses a lot of students, doesn't it?_ She turned Danny away from the house now, and the dragon slowly rose higher, until the house was just a dark spot against the snow.

'Yes.' Harry had, on arrival, been rather surprised at how well they all fit into the house. But then, he supposed, Davyn Florence would hardly have invited them if he couldn't house them -- even if he did seem a bit absorbed with his dragons, he didn't seem the type to neglect people for them. 'There are about forty or so fifth years. I think.'

_I hope to open a school here one day. I am not the only person of schooling age in this area, but I was the only one who could manage the expenses of travelling to come to Hogwarts. There is a witch who teaches a few things to others, mostly Herbology and Charms, simple domestic magic, but I want to have a school where everyone can learn everything I have at Hogwarts._ Kelsey paused a moment. _I would like to make it a school for people disabled either by magic or by natural means, but I don't know if I would be able to. I don't know if I would be allowed to exclude people like that. But... Harry, have you ever met anyone disabled at Hogwarts?_

Harry thought about it. 'Not until you, I suppose,' he said dubiously. Crabbe and Goyle were thick, of course, but that probably didn't count -- he suspected that if they only tried they would be capable. 'Does that mean that Hogwarts excludes disabled people?'

_It's probably not intentional; after all, magic can cure a lot of things. But there are things it can't cure -- you know about St. Mungo's, after all. _The smooth script flowing out of Kelsey's wand as she channelled her thoughts into it became jagged and spiky. _There are young people like us in there, orphaned at birth because of Voldemort. They could become anything, just like us, but because of him... _Her writing smoothed out again._ I'm sorry. It's a passion of mine._

'That's hardly surprising,' Harry said.

They were now up high enough that the islands spread out below them like a map. Harry saw great glaciers and wide snowfields, dark crevasses amongst the mountains, and could just glimpse the tiny dot that was Florence's Dragon Stables.

'It's wonderful up here,' he said.

_I know_, Kelsey said. _I know._

They flew on in silence for a while longer, then Kelsey said something to Danny, who turned and began flying back down in a winding corkscrew towards home. Harry felt very peaceful, watching the island grow slowly bigger below them. The thought of breakfast entered his head -- Freya Florence was an excellent cook, and catering for nearly fifty people did nothing to diminish the quality of her food.

Suddenly Danny paused, midair, then growled softly, deep in the back of his throat. The growl went on and on, rumbling from his big belly out, shaking him all over. Harry looked for something to hold on to, and Kelsey gestured for him to put his arms around her waist.

_He's never done this before!_

That was hardly reassuring.

_Hold on, I'll talk to him._ She leant down close to Danny's ear. The conversation that went on between girl and dragon was brief. Harry, of course, didn't understand a word of it, but Kelsey eventually sat back up, frustrated. Danny let out a puff of smoke like a sigh, then began flying downwards again.

_He says he can feel Duffy. I don't know what he's talking about. I tried to tell him that she probably just went somewhere to hatch her babies, but he won't listen. He's going to land now, and we'll look later. I'm sure we won't find her, though -- Dad's been out a lot of times and she's hidden herself really well. Or-_

Kelsey didn't finish that sentence, whatever it was going to be. But Harry suspected that the ending was going to be, _whoever's hidden her has._

* * *

They landed outside the stables just as the bell was ringing for breakfast. Kelsey shooed Harry off to eat, taking charge of Danny herself, and Harry went into the house, still pondering Kelsey's unfinished sentence.

Ron and Hermione met him at the bottom of the stairs.

'Where have you _been_?' asked Hermione. 'Ron woke up and you weren't there! We've been looking for ages!'

'Flying,' said Harry. He yawned. 'I hope breakfast's ready, I'm starving.'

'_Flying_?' Hermione said, with a tell-us-go-on-Harry expression on her face.

'_Breakfast_!' Ron said.

They combined the two and went to the dining hall, a room that looked like it had perhaps been a ballroom built in a flight of fancy by some earlier Florence. Harry refused to talk until he had a plate heaped full of bacon, eggs, sausages, and toast, but then related the whole flight. He left out the part about Danny sensing Duffy, though. He felt, somehow, that it was up to Kelsey to say anything about that.

Just as Ron was getting up for seconds, Kelsey herself came in, her face drawn and angry. Her father intercepted her at the door and Harry saw the flashes of bright, jagged blue -- clearly Kelsey was telling Davyn something about Danny's sensing. Davyn seemed to be trying to calm his daughter, but Kelsey shrugged off most of what he said and went to get her breakfast, which her mother was serving from a long table at the end of the room, next to the staff table. Professors Snape and Firenze were animatedly discussing something or other over their breakfast. Shenea was lapping hot chocolate out of a bowl and talking to Hagrid. With Kelsey finally settled over by Kyla, everything seemed peaceful enough. Harry relaxed.

Lavender screamed.

'A rat! Ugh! A rat!' She pushed her chair away from the table as quickly as she could and Parvati followed her lead, squealing. Harry saw a tail disappearing underneath the table. He looked at Ron, who was looking down, and both of them dove under the table at the same moment. Their fingers reached out, grabbing, scrabbling -- there was a whisk of fur and tail against Harry's fingers -- then Ron shouted with triumph and backed slowly out, his fist closed around the struggling rat.

Several of the girls had backed off to the other side of the room, but Hermione saw the rat and exclaimed, 'Wormtail!'. Snape came running, his wand already out, but Harry took careful aim and said, '_Immobilius_!'. The rat froze immediately, eyes bulging, and Harry could see that it was indeed Wormtail. The patchy fur, the skinny tail, the overall woebegone air to the rat as it lay there, unmoving, in Ron's hand gave it all away.

'Wormtail!' Hermione said again.

'What's _he_ doing here?' Ron asked.

Kelsey had come over to see what the commotion was all about. _I saw that rat back at Hogwarts!_ she said. _I tried to do something for him, but he got away._

'The best you could do for him would be to kill him,' Ron said, handing the rat over to Snape, who didn't look much more impressed than Ron at the idea of holding the little traitor. 'After all he's done...'

'Snuffles,' Harry said under his breath, and Ron nodded, going red. Wormtail, while loathsome, was possibly the only way to clear Sirius Black's name.

Snape set Wormtail down on the floor and transformed him back to human. The year since Harry had last seen him had not been kind to the little man. He looked almost as bad as he had a few seconds previously, in fact -- tattered, embarrassed, and with an air of defeat.

'Well done, Harry,' he said, his voice as ragged as his appearance. 'I should congratulate you.'

'Shut up,' Harry said, unable to keep the loathing from his voice. Most of the room was spellbound, staring at the pair. 'I wouldn't accept congratulations from you whether you meant it or not.'

Wormtail shuffled his feet. 'I--'

'How did you get here?' Hermione interrupted. 'You can't have been able to travel this far as a rat, and trying to move around in your human form... you would have been recognised. So how did you do it?'

'I had assistance,' Wormtail said. The smile that appeared on his face really wasn't very nice. 'Kind assistance, from someone one of you knows very well.' His eyes darted in Snape's direction.

'No!' Harry said. 'I don't believe you!' Snape was shaking his head. 'Not after everything that's happened... I won't believe that any more.'

'And why should you, Harry?' a new voice interrupted from behind Snape -- Harry couldn't see the speaker; however, Hermione could, and gasped. 'Peter doesn't mean Severus, after all. Out of my way, Severus.' Snape moved to turn around, but froze. 'No, a step to the side will suffice.' Harry recognised the voice at last, just before its owner stepped out from behind Snape.

Stripped of the Italian accent, Professor Firenze's voice sounded just like Kelsey's.

_Brynja!_ Kelsey's wand spat sparks and she leapt forward to stand glaring at her sister. _I knew it! Where's Duffy?_

'Safe,' Brynja replied, looking unconcerned. 'Peter, come with me. We're ending this farce.'

'No you're not!' Harry pulled out his wand and aimed it at her. 'He's staying here and helping clear Sirius's name!' Distantly he heard Hermione shouting something at him, but sheer desperation had overwhelmed him... they couldn't let Wormtail escape again, they just couldn't!

Brynja raised an eyebrow. 'If you think you're going to stop me with that, Harry, you're much mistaken.' She reached out and grabbed Wormtail's arm, and with a pop! sound as air rushed in to fill the void where they had been, both Disapparated.

'No!'

_Harry, come on!_ Kelsey grabbed his arm and started towing him towards the door.

'But they could be anywhere!'

_No they're not. They've gone to Duffy. And I know just who can help us find them!_

* * *

Less than a minute later, Harry and Kelsey were back on Danny's back, soaring through the air. Kelsey peered left and right through the snow that was beginning to fall. Harry concentrated on clinging on to the dragon, trying not to fall.

_Can you sense her, Danny?_ Kelsey asked as they neared the place where Danny had begun acting strangely earlier. Danny snorted. _Come on, big boy... there. There!_

Harry looked down as Kelsey pointed. Far below them, rising up from an island so small it was barely visible, came a second dragon. Harry recognised Duffy immediately, and saw the two tiny figures clinging to her back.

'Er, Kelsey... you don't think this might be a bit dangerous?'

_It's your chance to save your godfather and my chance to get my voice back. Danger has nothing to do with it._ Kelsey whispered to Danny, who banked into a steep downward curve. _All we have to do is herd them back to the cave where Duffy's eggs are. She'll do anything to protect them!_

They drew closer to Duffy, who was making slow circles above the island. Harry squinted against the driving snow and saw Brynja sitting on the dragon's neck, Wormtail clinging on behind her. When they got close enough he could hear Wormtail's protesting shouts, and grinned.

'Let's go!'

_I agree_, Kelsey said. She tucked her wand into her sleeve and bent low over Danny's neck. She didn't need to tell Harry to hang on -- he was already doing it, fingers pressed hard into Danny's scales, flattened against the dragon's back.

There was a roar and sudden heat. Duffy had breathed fire at them. Kelsey sat up straighter again and started yelling something in Dragon's Dialect. Harry held on tighter with his left hand and aimed his wand at Wormtail with his right. There had to be something that would work... he glanced to the ground below and was surprised to see it closer than he had thought.

'_Petrificus Totalus_!' he shouted into the whipping wind.

The expression on Wormtail's face as his whole body went stiff was priceless. Duffy was moving into another turn and Wormtail didn't have a chance. He tumbled off the dragon's back and fell, landing on the snow, hollowing out a meteor crater with his weight. Brynja's lips formed a spell and Harry tapped Kelsey on the shoulder. Danny's whole body lurched as he ducked and suddenly Harry was sliding sideways over the blue scales.

'No!'

He scrabbled for a grip on Danny's scales, but they were too wet... Kelsey reached a hand down, making her own position even more precarious... Harry saw the heaving sea below them and closed his eyes... and felt a crushing grip around his waist. He opened his eyes. One of Danny's claws was closed around him.

'Nice catch,' he panted. Whatever people said about dragons being fearsome, deadly creatures, he knew that at least one of them was a humanitarian. And Duffy was still circling just below them... Harry aimed his wand and cried once more, '_Petrificus Totalus_!'

Brynja made no sound as she fell from the dragon's back, landing in the sea with barely a splash. Duffy wheeled, her growling almost like singing as she glided down to the island and landed beside Wormtail.

A string of words floated by Harry's face.

_We have to save my sister!_

Harry didn't question this logic. He could see Brynja's hair like a mop of dark seaweed on the surface of the water, and his feet skimmed the water as Kelsey took Danny as low as she could. Harry wriggled in Danny's grip, stretching his hands towards the woman, but realised that wouldn't work.

'_Mobilicorpus_!' he shouted, pointing his wand down into the dark water.

Brynja's dripping body rose from the waves. Harry guided it to shore with his wand, feeling Danny's grip loosen as the dragon slowed over the island. He dropped, landing knee-deep in the snow. Brynja had landed beside Wormtail and Duffy was curling around both of them.

_Duffy, help us_. Kelsey leapt off Danny's back and together she and Harry lifted the unconscious pair onto Duffy's back. Danny took off again. _He's going to get help_, Kelsey explained as they moved towards the centre of the island. The island was mostly flat except for a single lumpy, rocky hill, which housed the cave Duffy's eggs were presumably in. The cave's entrance was dark, but as Harry and Kelsey moved inside, the flickering light that signalled a fire came into view.

'Brynja, is that you? The eggs're hatching, we don't have much time,' came an irritated voice from deeper inside the cave. Kelsey froze, and Duffy came to a ponderous halt, almost shaking her burden from her back.

'Who is it?' Harry whispered.

_I don't know. I don't recognise the voice_, Kelsey replied.

'Who's there?'

Duffy was whining and pushing against Kelsey's restraining hands. She evidently wanted to get back to her hatching eggs. Kelsey struggled to hold her back, but to no avail. _Harry, help!_

Even with both of them hanging on to the dragon, it was futile. Duffy wanted to go back to her babies, and when a dragon wants to go somewhere it is very difficult to stop it. Harry and Kelsey were dragged along by Duffy's lumbering mass, into the inner cavern, into the light.

'At last!' The source of the voice was a man, standing beside the fire. He turned and glared. 'You're... wait, you're not Brynja. Who are you?'

_Her sister_, Kelsey said. She pointed her wand at the man. _Get away from those eggs!_

'It's too late, little girl,' said the man. 'They're already hatching. And they're for Our Lord.' He withdrew his own wand from a pocket and twitched it at Harry and Kelsey. 'Get into that corner, or the mother might flame you.'

_Duffy wouldn't flame me!_ Kelsey fired the words, her stance unshakeable. _I'm not going anywhere unless I want to!_

'Oh, really? _Expelliarmus_!' the man said. Harry clutched at his wand, but it flew from his grip anyway. 'Now get over there before I decide to hurt you.'

Harry and Kelsey shuffled along the wall. Kelsey was shaking with anger, her only voice stolen from her with the loss of her wand. She growled. Harry put a hand on her arm to try and calm her, but she was implacable.

As Duffy moved deeper into the cavern, breathing jets of flame into the already bright fire, Wormtail and Brynja both slid off her back with nobody to steady them. They landed with twin thuds on the smooth stone floor.

'What...' The man turned away from the fire. 'What have you done to them?'

'They're paralysed,' Harry said. 'And Profess- Brynja's half drowned. If you don't want her to die, give me back my wand and let me help her.'

'Nice try,' the man sneered. 'I can handle a little healing on my own. Now, where--'

He was interrupted by a deep growl from the cavern entrance. Danny was back, Snape and Davyn on his back. At the same time as Danny made his presence known, there was a pop! from the other side of the cavern and a tumble of Apparating people materialised, with a loud mew of, 'Hey! Get off my tail!'

'Shenea!' Harry yelled.

Shenea squeezed out from underneath Hermione, Ron and Kyla and shook herself. 'Yow! Now what's going on h...' She spotted the man kneeling beside Brynja and Wormtail. 'Montague! You slimy Slytherin _git_!' Five pounds of irritated brown Burmese hit the man at high speed, claws extended.

'What?' Harry said.

'Harry!' Hermione raced over to him. 'What's going on? Danny came back and we wanted to go with Snape but he said no, and then Shenea said she could Apparate, and we came... but what's happened?'

Kelsey, meanwhile, wasn't taking a picnic. She vaulted over Duffy's back and tackled the man Shenea had identified as 'Montague', scrabbling for her wand. _Got you!_ She started raining punches on him. _That's for dragon-stealing, and that's for upsetting Duffy, and that's for..._

'Kelsey!' Harry shouted.

_Oh, sorry!_ Kelsey threw his wand into the air and Harry caught it. _And _that's_ for..._

'Miss Florence,' Snape said, his voice holding a note of... could it be amusement? 'And Miss Slytherin... please cease and desist.'

'Aw, stuff it,' Shenea said, but she ceased and desisted.

'What's goin' on here?' Kyla demanded, pulling Shenea off Montague's back and Kelsey off Montague's stomach. 'Who's this bloke? Who's the rat one? And how come Professor Firenze is involved?'

_She's my sister_, Kelsey said.

'Of course... Firenze is the Italian name for the city we call Florence,' Hermione said.

'And the 'rat one' is Peter Pettigrew,' Harry said. Kyla's eyes widened. 'I know it's hard to believe, but it's really him. He's not dead.'

'What about this ugly mug?' Kyla poked Montague with her toe. Like his compatriots, he was unconscious but, apparently, stable. 'What's he got to do with anything?'

'Perhaps Miss Slytherin can explain that,' Snape said. 'Although I certainly recognise him.' His voice held a note of distaste.

'He's the git that trapped me as a cat,' Shenea said. 'Rafael Montague. Although what he's doing here, I don't have a clue.'

'He was assigned to work with me,' said a coughing voice from the floor. Brynja struggled to sit up and Kelsey dropped to her knees beside her, putting one arm around her sister's shoulders. 'We were supposed to be capturing all the dragons from the stables to be used in the service of the Dark Lord. I found Peter at Hogwarts and convinced him that Norway might be a rather more congenial place for him to live, at least for a while. But thanks to Mr. Clever Potter and _you_\--' this last she spat at Kelsey, '--it's all fallen apart.'

'Ah, Brynja,' Davyn said. 'I'm sorry, I am, that it all came to this.' He knelt beside her and held his arms out. After a moment, Brynja sagged against him and wept. The cavern fell silent except for the sound of her sobs.

Then there was a distinct cracking sound.

_The babies!_ Kelsey sprang up and ran to the fire, tapping each hand with her wand before reaching into the fire's heart and rolling the eggs out. Duffy nudged them anxiously with her snout, alternating between the two, as both shells tore open and the baby dragons' snouts poked out.

'Oh, look at them...' Hermione breathed as Kelsey pulled the shells further open, freeing the babies. 'They're so small...' Her hand sought and found Ron's as the group stood in a silent tableau, marvelling over the miracle of such tenacious tiny life.

* * *

The rest of the week seemed quite an anticlimax after all that had happened. Harry had thought that the trip would end early on the basis of what had happened, but to his surprise they stayed out the rest of their time.

On returning to the dragon stables, they had discovered the rest of the students in an uproar, Hagrid quite unable to keep things under control. Freya had been busy in the stable with Duffy's third egg, which had been brought from Hogwarts, and had hatched at about the same time as the other two. However, things had calmed down as soon as Snape took control back. The explanations alone had taken up the rest of the morning, and it was a subdued group who went into the stables that afternoon to charm the bedding hay so that it was fireproof.

Brynja, Wormtail and Montague had all been imprisoned in one of the wings of the house, a dozen different charms and spells placed on their rooms making escape impossible. Representatives of the Ministry of Magic had come the next day to take them back to England. It seemed that everything was over. But Kelsey was still voiceless, Shenea was still furry, and Harry didn't want to think too hard about Sirius, living his undercover life, hunted, tormented.

They left the dragon stables on a sunny afternoon. Freya was practically in tears as she waved goodbye. Davyn wished them all well as they Disapparated. Everyone said a final goodbye to Danny and Duffy and the babies, who had not yet been named.

After the icy cold of Norway, Hogsmeade seemed like a tropical paradise, and the students hurried back to Hogwarts to change out of their heavy robes. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked near the back of the group, comparing the familiar surroundings to the snow.

'It's so _green_,' Ron said.

'I think you're snowblind,' Harry replied. The trees were just barely beginning to bloom with leaves.

Dumbledore was waiting for them on the front steps of Hogwarts.

'Welcome back, fifth-years,' he said. 'I trust you all enjoyed your break?' There was an affirmative murmur. 'I won't detain you... I am certain you are all eager to begin your essays on dragons, which I am sure will be a hundred percent correct after all the research you must have done.' A groan. Dumbledore smiled. 'Harry Potter and Kelsey Florence, I would like a word with you in my office.' He scanned the crowd. 'Shenea, there you are. You too, please.'

Hermione looked at Harry. 'What's going on?' she whispered.

'I don't know,' said Harry, but a thrill of excitement went through him. He thought that, perhaps, he _did_ know. He nodded to Ron and Hermione and went up the stone steps with Kelsey, Shenea perched on Kelsey's shoulder.

* * *

Harry's heart pounded as they ascended the spiral staircase into Dumbledore's office. This had to be the moment he'd been hoping for... he could tell that Kelsey and Shenea were thinking the same thing, Kelsey was wordless and even Shenea was silent for once.

Dumbledore's office was already crowded. Two Ministry guards flanked Brynja Florence; another two held the arms of Peter Pettigrew in his human form. Rafael Montague stood defiantly in one corner; the guards either side of him held their wands at the ready. Cornelius Fudge was there, seated beside Dumbledore's desk and looking decidedly uncomfortable. Kelsey's parents were standing near Brynja, Davyn holding one of the baby dragons, trying to feed it from a bottle. Remus Lupin was there, but despite not having seen him in some time, Harry's attention was more focused on the man beside him.

'Sirius...' he breathed.

'Yes, I'm really here, Harry,' said Sirius Black.

His words broke the stillness. Harry threw himself into his godfather's arms and the two embraced for a long moment. Harry could feel the tears trying to come and held them back... they could wait.

Dumbledore seated himself at his desk and smiled beatifically at the gathering. 'Now that we're all here, we may as well proceed, don't you think?' He looked at a piece of paper in front of himself. 'The first order of business: Rafael Montague is to return Sara Slytherin to her former state of being.'

'_Really?_' Shenea leapt from Kelsey's shoulder onto Dumbledore's desk. 'I... oh...'

'I would prefer if it you stood on the floor, Miss Slytherin,' Dumbledore said dryly. 'This is an old desk, after all.'

Shenea jumped to the floor and stood in the middle of the crowd. Her fur fluffed out as Montague pointed a wand at her, but the Ministry guards had their wands at the ready and she relaxed.

'By order of the Ministry of Magic, Rafael Montague must now restore Sara Slytherin to her human form,' Fudge said, as if he didn't want to be left out.

Montague sighed, then spoke the words of the spell.

Before everyone's eyes, the Burmese slowly changed. She grew larger, and brown fur became human skin and the black cloth of school robes. Her eyes stayed bright green, her hair remained brunette, and before long a young woman was standing in the centre of the room, clad in Slytherin robes, and absently scratching behind one ear.

'Sara, you look... different,' Sirius said.

'She's older, of course,' Lupin said, a smile surfacing on his face. 'But she's still your Furball.'

'Don't call me _Furball_!' Sara paused. 'I suppose I'll have to live with being Sara again, though.' With that she moved to Lupin and Sirius and the three shared a hug. As the unofficial fifth Marauder, Sara had spent quite some time with the two of them in the past, and judging by the wide grins on all three faces, things were well on their way back to normal.

'Next: Brynja Florence to restore the voice of her sister Kelsey,' Dumbledore said.

'By Ministry orders,' Fudge added. The expression on his face was a sight to behold: he looked very left out, and Harry had trouble not laughing.

'I can't do it unless the dragon's here,' Brynja said, looking bored. 'He's the one with the voice, after all.'

'That, of course, will not be a problem,' Dumbledore said. He gestured at the office window, which slid open. A huge scaly head poked through, and Charlie Weasley's voice could be heard telling Danny not to break anything.

Brynja scowled. 'That was a good spell, too,' she muttered. One of the Ministry guards handed her a wand and she examined it, then nodded at Kelsey. 'Come here, then.' She drew a circle in the air around Kelsey's throat, then repeated the gesture with Danny; a final flourish linked the two circles, which began glowing blue. Brynja lowered her voice and completed the spell. A bright flash of light ran along the blue line from Kelsey to Danny, then a second one from Danny to Kelsey. The line faded. Both circles glowed brighter for a moment, then sank into the skins of the pair.

'Did it work?' Davyn asked anxiously.

Kelsey reached for her wand, then stopped herself and said clearly, 'Yes, Daddy.' Freya burst into tears, and Davyn wasn't far behind. Kelsey threw herself into her parents' arms.

'We have one final order of business here today,' Dumbledore said. 'I won't keep you in suspense any longer, Harry.' He turned to Fudge. 'Tell him.'

'Two days ago Peter Pettigrew made a detailed confession that made it perfectly clear that the events surrounding his supposed death were a fabrication. His confession also made it evident that Sirius Black is, in fact, free of any guilt. It was the finding of the Ministry that Sirius Black be allowed to walk free. It will be made public that he is not guilty of the crimes of which he was accused. The Ministry apologises for wasting precious years of his life in Azkaban, and hopes that the conviction of Peter Pettigrew, along with Brynja Florence and Rafael Montague, for acs committed to further the cause set forth by--' Fudge coughed, '--You-Know-Who will be seen in some small way as an act of atonement.'

'It's all over, Harry,' Lupin said, drawing Sara out of the way so that Harry could throw himself once more on Sirius, the two of them clinging to each other, and finally shedding tears of joy.

Dumbledore looked around the office. 'Well,' he said, mostly to himself, 'I think everything has ended very satisfactorily.'

* * *

Harry looked around the Gryffindor boys' room one last time, making certain he hadn't forgotten anything in his packing. A piece of paper caught his eye, poking out from beneath his pillow. He pulled the paper out -- it was actually a bit of card. A Chocolate Frog card. He remembered now -- it was the card that had been blank at the beginning of the year.

It wasn't blank now.

Sirius's face looked up at him, beaming. Already he looked less gaunt, less beaten. Harry turned the card over.

_Sirius Black_, it said. _Once believed to have aided and abetted You-Know-Who, this well-known wizard has been exonerated of all charges and is now living in London with his godson, Harry Potter._

Harry smiled and put the card into his pocket. Ron was calling him from the common room; Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and hurried downstairs.

 

**The End.**


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